They Are Back
Friday, May 24, 2013 @ 3:46 AM
Western tent caterpillars hungrily devour the leaves on this poplar sapling
Prince George, BC – Master Gardener and long-time resident, Jos Van Hage, calls it unbelievable…He is referring to the thousands of trees in, and around, the city that have become infested with western tent caterpillars.
Last year, Van Hage says, there seemed to be pockets of the them, but this year they are everywhere. Just when they hit your neighbourhood depends on when the foliage came out, but beware, he says, "They are everywhere."
"It’s pathetic," says the gardener, "The way that they will come into a yard and eat everything in sight, some people have had them eating the grass when there are no leaves left." Van Hage says, for the most part, they start in the poplar trees – many of which were hit last year as well.
In a few weeks, they’ll turn into moths and that’s when they lay their eggs for next year. It’s also the time to get rid of them, says Van Hage. Although he admits it’s often hard to see the little ests and often they’re in the tops of trees, which are hard to get at.
To get rid of them, Van Hage recommends BTK, which is organic. Ambush and Savin are also pesticides that will do the job.
Comments
And they will come back again and again. Don’t waste your money trying to kill them.
We have acreage and somehow got missed last year. There was a band of them to the north and a band to the south. I dont have a good feeling about this year… lol
I just have to protect some newly planted young trees, the rest can go.
The trees don’t die the leaves come back in a few weeks.
you bet NoWay – the only reason these new ones concern me is they are just starting to leaf after a recent transplant so I dont want to shock them anymore than they have been. As for the rest of the poplars on the property, I almost wish they wouldnt come back haha
I wonder what Van Hage recommends for trees that are 80 plus feet high. We have several in our back yard.
At this time we do not have caterpillars yet. We had them many moons ago. The trees are still here. They seems to be a nuisance. They are not exactly Pine Beetles.
Is anyone mapping their locations, perhaps some enterprising entomology student at UNBC that has nothing better to do this summer?
The caterpillar eggs hatch in the tree so the trick is to stop the moths laying their eggs in the trees. Good luck with that. As far as young transplanted trees go that don’t have caterpillar on it yet wrap the bottom of the tree from the ground up with 2 feet + of duct tape sticky side out. Red Green would be proud!
They are revolting. Last year they made their cacoons on our house, our deck, our sheds, playhouses and doghouses. They left a huge mess.
I wish the city would spray for these.
This is all a big cycle. Their population explodes about every tens years. Their population will crash at the end of this year or next. Then you barely see them for a few years.
I remember the population explosions in the 80s, 90s, and 00s.
daisybee says: “I wish the city would spray for these”. What do you mean ? The city should rent a crop duster and bomb the town with insecticides ?
Why not middle finger! They mass medicate us now by spiking our water with Fluoride!
On second thought….after getting the mower out of the shed, the little buggers are trying to pack the house and shed away. Okay, bomb us.
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