What is the "spider Web" substance I see on trees. It encloses a whole branch and kills it. How do I treat it

Answer 1

They are commonly called tent caterpillars. They feed nocturnally and spend the daylight hours in the middle of the web, as protection from predators, especially birds. To successfully treat with pesticides, you must tear the outer web and spray through the opening into the inside. But spraying still leaves the ugly webs. The pesticide Seven works pretty good for small infestations.

When tent caterpillars are numerous or hard to reach, other chemical controls are recommended. Infested trees may be sprayed with a biological insecticide, Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.). This control is selective; it kills only caterpillars and is relatively safe for other insects, fish, birds, and warm-blooded animals. Caterpillars must eat a moderate amount of treated leaf to get an effective dose. Thorough coverage of foliage is necessary, and spraying should not begin until early signs of leaf damage appear. The effects of B.t. are not immediately apparent. Caterpillars sicken and stop feeding right away, but they do not die for a few days. Younger larvae are more susceptible to B.t.; once caterpillars are migrating, they do not eat much, and other pesticides are more effective.

The best thing to do is to watch for when the tent caterpillars first come out. They will generally build a tent at a small crotch on a branch. If you get them early when the web is small, and prune out the branch they are on, it is probably the quickest and simplest cure. And since they're all in the web in daylight, it's a complete cure.

Another possible fix is to tear open the web and let the birds do the rest. They love the wriggly little buggers!

Answer 2

In Southern Ilinois these boogers are awful!

They are called bag worms or tent-worms. At first, you see thick clumps of spider web looking material and if you look closely, there are little worms inside that web!

They have potential to kill a tree - because they eat leaves and a tree can't live without leaves, in little under a week.

I have had luck with making a torch and literally burning the web, thus killing the worms inside it. But you can also get spray (Seaven) to spray on the infected areas. This is VERY dangerous if you have pets or small children. I have also had luck with literally spraying a highly intesive spray of water from the hose and knocking or washing the pests away. It takes and strong stream of water and it certainly takes more than one day - maybe everyday for a week. But at least it's safer for pets and children.

The last option is to cut and torch the infected branch and watch for additional 'infections'. This is okay if you can reach it or if the tree needs a trim anyway. The only caution with this is to remember that tree trimming is pretty permenant so make sure that's the option you want to take.

Good luck.

Answer 3

I know this, I work at an organic gardening center. Those are bagworms. You need to get BT (bacillus thuringiencis), a common product is Thuricide. It's a liquid that you will have to spray in your trees, but it does work. It will help keep the worms away for a couple of months after you spray, too. You will need to spray in January for prevention. I really hope that helps you.

Answer 4

It is called bag worms and if you break the bag it is full of worms. I have tried spray and killers and knocking down and stomping. then I used a candle. A long white one duck taped to a broom handle. I lit the candle and held it under the bag worms and burned it up. when some of the worms fell to the ground they got stomped to death. Then I sprayed again and paint the bottom of the tree with white latex exterior house paint. Keeps the worms from crawling up the tree for some reason. A man who owns pecans told me to do that and I got rid of the bag worms, who were killing my pecan tree.

Answer 5

I use a hone made torch and burn naptha to kill the worms inside the web. These"critters come out at night and devour the folage on the tree.You better do something soon if you value the trees.

Answer 6

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Answer 7

mealy bugs and they are a pain, you have to get diazinon or another product safe to work on trees that are not fruit baring and you have to spray the tree from top to bottom, or it will just keep spreading. I've had them twice before in 2 different states that i lived in. same procedure worked both times.

Answer 8

That is caused by Gypsy moth caterpillars. not much you can do to treat it except remove the cocoon before it kills the branch.

Answer 9

It's a worm. There is something called "Sevan"(pronounce like 7). I'm not sure of the spelling but you mix it w / water and spray.
Worked for me.

Answer 10

Silkworm (maybe wrong about what it is called, but that's what people referred to it as in Texas). Infected area of limb must be cut off.