How to Control Tent Caterpillars
Thursday, May 31st, 2007We have a little problem.
Last year, before we took down the big Red Oak in our front yard, I noticed that the leaves were looking a little thin. After a while, I found out the cause…Tent Caterpillars.
Ok, the problem may have gone away that time because we had the tree removed due to some root rot on the far side, away from the house. This year, I noticed some nice white tents up in the neighbor’s Cherry Tree. I noticed this ealier in the Spring and am starting to notice my new Crabapple leaves getting a bit sparse. Just the other day, I pulled off a few tent caterpillars…right off the leaves. I watched them eating the green.
So this is obviously a problem that needs dealing with. How does one deal with tent caterpillars? I have been doing some dabbling online trying to find the solution. I even looked in Home Depot for some spray or something. To my surprise, there was nothing in the store. I did, however, find a pretty good tent caterpillar article online dealing with the topic. I even found a product that you wrap around the base of the tree. It is called, “TreeHelp Bug Band.” The way this works is to wrap a piece of this sticky glue tape (like I said above) around the base of the tree. When a bug or caterpillar tries to pass over the tape, well, they get stuck. If you try this solution, don’t feel too bad, these are mean little suckers. When I was pulling them off the Crabapple tree, they gave me attitude. I mean it.
I am going to give this a try. I’ll stop by my local Agway to see if they have it. If it works, I’ll be sure to let you know.
