Bagworms - Arrrgh

[BaronsMom]

I'd put this on the plant/tree forum, but a lot of people homesteading have windbreaks or evergreens and maybe aren't looking for bagworms or are wondering why their trees have "funny ornaments".

I can tell you around my area, bagworms are everywhere...not "webworms" that people sometimes mistakenly call bagworms. But the individual bagworms on evergreens and other trees.

We're busy picking ours off now, but it will be impossible on some windbreaks I've seen. Just one bag with eggs in it can have 300-1000 eggs that will hatch mid-May.

Here is some really great information and a new YouTube video so you can learn what bagworms look like, the damage they do and what to do about them.


http://lancaster.unl.edu/hort/bagworms.shtml


If you pick off yours' - then fewer will find my trees!

[Big Dave]

I went out this weekend and found them all over the peach trees. I went over all the trees,we only have four, and in most crotches those pest were in the bag. I physically pulled the bags off and smashed them. I mashed those that stayed on the trees. I lost some peaches but not as many as if I had not caught them.
Went back and looked at the pictures???? These are cacoons and nothing like what I Have been taught bag worms are. I am now offically corn fused.The worms I have are in silk looking bags.

[palani]

Make a torch out of a rolled up newspaper. They ignite.

[Tricky Grama]

Hey, Hey, Hey!! I know what to do! Go to your feed store (usually) and buy Trichogramma wasp eggs, pin them to the trees. This is where I get my 'screen name' Tricky Grama-we had an infestation of bag worms and also inch worms, cured both by releasing the microscopic wasp eggs.

Patty

[Jan in CO]

Ewww. Thanks for postiing this. I'm going to inspect our trees tomorrow! Jan in Co

[||Downhome||]

big dave I think what your talkin bout is gypsy moth catipillers.

[ovsfarm]

We had a problem with bag caterpillars one year--heavy infestation county wide. I had nothing else on hand so mixed up a medium strength bleach solution. Didn't kill them instantly but they were all dead by the next day. The trees suffered no ill effects that I could see.

[Simpler Times]

"Bagworms" are have individual cocoons http://www.ohiodnr.com/DNN/health/ba...8/Default.aspx

"Tent worms" are found in a silky-like web http://picasaweb.google.com/myrmecop...23752118740930

[stirfamily]

Try Dipel. We use it here for bag worms on our conifers. It is nontoxic to humans and wildlife. Only kills caterpillars.
karen in NE Indiana

[beaglady]

Both kinds of worm cocoons burn nicely with a propane torch.

[TRAILRIDER]

Remember, for all the horse people, bag worms cause mare reproductive loss syndrom. Generally if they are in cherry trees then cross the ground where mares graze. The mares eat the grass and can have major problems. Lose foals, have weak foals, have no milk. Here in KY we had a few years of major losses. Course they are bad for your trees too. Mary.

[BaronsMom]

I just pull the tent caterpillars off too, web worms -- they get in my ornamental trees and are all over around here in the cottonwoods in late summer, fall. They just make the trees look ugly, but don't kill them.

But bagworms are tougher and it is a shame to see a beautiful blue spruce killed by them.

They are amazing little critters though...


Oh, if you want some control info on Fall webworms-tent caterpillars. Here's some -

http://lancaster.unl.edu/hort/articl...lWebworm.shtml

[Curtis B]

Round here in Kansas they are everywhere. They local nuseries and experts say to use BC. I can't remember the exact name, but it is a natual product and the say it won't harm other insects or animals. You spray the trees with it at night when they are out of their cocoons. Works real well.

[BaronsMom]

Originally Posted by Curtis B

Round here in Kansas they are everywhere. They local nuseries and experts say to use BC. I can't remember the exact name, but it is a natual product and the say it won't harm other insects or animals. You spray the trees with it at night when they are out of their cocoons. Works real well.

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is available at nurseries and garden centers as Dipel or Thuricide

The bagworms don't ever leave their bags. Just stick their heads out and feed. If you watch them in August, you can see them feeding (there is a video clip of one crawling up a branch - it is kind of cool)- and they do it in the daytime. When they pupate into the adult, the males leave the bags in fall to find the females (who never leave the bag at all - even as adults)


Watch the video. The only time sprays will work is when they are babies - in my area, that means we have to spray in June. Since we're your neighbors here in Nebraska, you probably have to spray in June if you don't want to handpick them all.

YouTube

[Tricky Grama]

Originally Posted by Curtis B

Round here in Kansas they are everywhere. They local nuseries and experts say to use BC. I can't remember the exact name, but it is a natual product and the say it won't harm other insects or animals. You spray the trees with it at night when they are out of their cocoons. Works real well.

I think you mean BT-Bacillus Thuringiensis. It is a natual product & kills caterpillars.
Patty
ps-sorry BaronsMom-didn't see your post!

[Curtis B]

Sorry, off one letter, but for large infestations it works very well I've been told by people that have used it. Unfortunatly I don't have enough big evergreens so I have been hand picking. Oh, and BaronsMom don't worry, I'm doing my part.

[BaronsMom]

Originally Posted by Curtis B

Sorry, off one letter, but for large infestations it works very well I've been told by people that have used it. Unfortunatly I don't have enough big evergreens so I have been hand picking. Oh, and BaronsMom don't worry, I'm doing my part.

LOL....Oh, I believe you. They are a persistent little pest. - I went to my parent's farm today and my folks have been diligent looking for bagworms.

What a shock for them to find out, they had bagworms in a plum bush 6 feet from the mudroom door! My mom had thought they were just a few dead leaves hanging on the branches...nope, bagworms waiting to hatch this spring.

At least bagworms are easier to see in the winter.