Here in Wisconsin we are under attack by invaders of every kind.  Insects like Japanese Beetles & Gypsy Moths are ravaging our trees. Invasive plants like Garlic Mustard & Honeysuckle are crowding out the plants below.    Anyone who spends time outdoors knows it’s a war, and one we’re not winning.  I selected today’s photograph because right now many of our flowering fruit trees are covered in tent like webs just like the ones you see in the picture.  They are often identified as invasive Gypsy Moth larvae.  Well, the upside is, they’re not.  Gypsy Moths do not make tents. These are actually Eastern Tent Caterpillars. They’re not invaders, just pesky.

The Eastern tent caterpiller can certainly do some damage.  Each day they will come out of their tent like nests and ravenously eat the leaves off their host trees. Sometimes they can strip a smaller tree almost bare before spinning their cocoons in late May or early June. The good news is that most healthy trees will recover. On the other hand, weaker trees or those you’d like to produce big tasty fruit could do with out the added pressure.

It’s best of course to remove the critters early in the year but let’s be honest, most of use are just noticing them again now and saying, “Oh yeah, those damn bugs again!”.   Well here’s what you do.  In the evening when the caterpillars return to the web, put on your rubber gloves and pull the whole sticky, globby, buggy mess off the branches and drop it all into a bucked of soapy water. In the morning you can discard the whole mess (including the dead caterpillars).  If they are up out of reach, rip open the whole web with a stick, the spray them with soapy water or a contact insecticide. Small trees can be sprayed with BT.

More

• Eastern Tent Caterpillar (pdf)

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