Return of the Caterpillars!

[AboveBeyond]

Anyone battling with these guys every year? I walked around and saw that most of my deciduous trees are being eaten by caterpillars. I sprayed Thuricide (BT) this morning and will continue spraying until they're gone.

What's your course of action with these guys?

 

[BethF]

Chemical warfare, like you.

 

[Cypress187]

I don't have much of them, and when i see them i will confront them, often ending in a hand-to-hand combat (mostly won by me).

 

[M. Frary]

At first sign of any pest here I dose them with Bayer 3 in 1. Not many pests here though. Mainly rose chafe beetles.

 

[0soyoung]

Thumb and forefinger. Pinch, pinch, pinch. Squash 'em like a grape.
It has got to be seriously out of hand before I use the nuclear option.

 

[sorce]

Spiders.



I tries saving this one for my daughter. When I checked for it.....it was already sucked to a shrivel!

Spiders.

Sorce

 

[Dav4]

Surprisingly, no caterpillars seen this spring....though when I do, it's squishin' time- Close your mouth and eyes when doing this

 

[AboveBeyond]

Unfortunately, manual removal isn't possible because its an infestation! I have very tall red maple trees (30+ ft) that overhangs my backyard and right on top of my bonsai. These red maple appear to be the source of the caterpillars because I've seen clumps of fallen red maple leaves that are PACKED with caterpillars.

 

[whfarro]

Haven't seen them down this way (lower Hudson Valley) yet. Thankfully.

 

[0soyoung]

Unfortunately, manual removal isn't possible because its an infestation! I have very tall red maple trees (30+ ft) that overhangs my backyard and right on top of my bonsai. These red maple appear to be the source of the caterpillars because I've seen clumps of fallen red maple leaves that are PACKED with caterpillars.

Oh, you are not talking about bonsai, but trees in your landscape??
My area of the country is renowned for tent caterpillars. If I can reach the branch I squish them. I use a pole trimmer to reach the nests that are higher, but again squish the buggers. But I have seen deciduous trees that were one big tent web wind up defoliated. A month or so later the tree was had a full healthy canopy (hmmm, where did the idea of defoliating bonsai come from? ).

 

[AboveBeyond]

Oh, you are not talking about bonsai, but trees in your landscape??
My area of the country is renowned for tent caterpillars. If I can reach the branch I squish them. I use a pole trimmer to reach the nests that are higher, but again squish the buggers. But I have seen deciduous trees that were one big tent web wind up defoliated. A month or so later the tree was had a full healthy canopy (hmmm, where did the idea of defoliating bonsai come from? ).

I"m talking about my bonsai trees.

 

[quietobserver]

I"m talking about my bonsai trees.

http://www.arbico-organics.com/prod...nardii/beneficial-insects-predators-parasites

Try some assassins. Worked last year with the caterpillar problem I had in the landscape and bonsai. Key word being 'had'.

 

[AboveBeyond]

http://www.arbico-organics.com/prod...nardii/beneficial-insects-predators-parasites

Try some assassins. Worked last year with the caterpillar problem I had in the landscape and bonsai. Key word being 'had'.

Interesting. Did you see the assassins attacking the caterpillars? Did you place the assassin eggs near each your trees?

 

[leatherback]

Only had 5 or so clumps. Picked them off the trees and placed them in a shrub 100m down the road. Also caterpillars have a right to live, in my view.

 

[quietobserver]

Interesting. Did you see the assassins attacking the caterpillars? Did you place the assassin eggs near each your trees?

Yes, clearly attacking them. I had an infestation though. They didn't get ALL of them, but enough to give me some relief and get the numbers down enough I could keep my bonsai picked clean. When all over the landscape they keep ending up in the bonsai every evening.

 

[Disgruntled_ficus]

Put a couple birdhouses up near the tree? Assuming they are a kind bird will eat.

 

[M. Frary]

When we were kids we put charcoal lighter on the tents and lit them up. I was young so give me a break. We only had to have the fire department over once.

 

[Lazylightningny]

I had a problem with caterpillars on my beech last year. Problem was, I could never see them, so I assume it was a nocturnal thing. I sprayed with BT and the problem went away.

 

[AboveBeyond]

Well, after further research, I'm not crazy after all. Winter Moth caterpillars are a known problem here in Massachusetts with pockets that have serious infestation. Unfortunately, my backyard is evidently one of those pockets.

I'm going to try Spinosad as suggested by the article. I'm already using BT and will continue to use it.

https://ag.umass.edu/fact-sheets/winter-moth-overview