Question of the Week 06/22/2019

Q: I was looking at my aspen trees and noticed large webbing on a few branches. What is that and what do I do?

A: Tent caterpillars are terrible pests that can quickly eat the leaves of any tree they appear on. There is usually between 150-400 eggs in the egg-sac; those eggs quickly mature into adults within 6 weeks.

They leave behind unsightly webs and are a major nuisance. You will need to contact a tree company since we do not spray chemicals in trees. If you prefer to do it yourself the best course of action is to go to a local nursery and purchase either B.T. (bacillus thuringiensis), Spinosad, or AzaMax.

Follow the directions on the package and spray directly on the web and all surrounding areas. More than one application may be necessary.

If you ignore the tent caterpillars they can quickly spread to surrounding trees and leave your trees without leaves for the rest of the year.

Good luck!