discover out how to get rid of bagworms before they put down your evergreens and other plants .
Courtesy of Getty Images / Backyard Production
Along with have it off how to get rid of bagworms , gardener often need to bang what they ’re even look for because thesegarden pestshave a unequalled camouflage . The first clip I saw a bagworm infestation , I mistook the small-scale brown dish hanging from an evergreen ’s leg for dead foliage . Little did I know then that each udder held a folio - manducate caterpillar capable of decimating a tree or shrub if the infestation is big enough . Here ’s how to greet and get rid of bagworms on your plants .
Credit:Courtesy of Getty Images / Backyard Production
Laura Iles , Ph.D. , is the director of Iowa State University ’s North Central Integrated Pest Management Center .
What do bagworms look like?
Bagworms are leisurely to miss at first . They get going out as a small black caterpillar but soon they make a tough protective case , or pocketbook , that protect them as they move around and feed . The bag is small at first , but as the larvae provender and grow , so do the bagful in which they harp .
calculate for chocolate-brown , arbor - shape bags , 1- to 2 inch long , which are fashioned by the caterpillars from silk and fragment of leaf , branchlet , and bark from the host flora . Conical at first , diamond shaped after , they ’re interwoven for strength and of course colour for camouflage . When abbreviate opened , these sacks give away the cat , which can be anywhere from an eighth column inch to 1 inch long , depending on the phase of its development .
Bagworm Life Cycle
Bagworms feed from the meter they brood in later spring / early summer until late summertime . At that point , they seal their bags and transform into moth in preparation for mating .
“ There is just one generation per summertime , ” explain Laura Iles , Ph.D. , director of Iowa State University ’s North Central Integrated Pest Management Center . The adult female person remains in her bag while a fly manlike moth visit to mate . After laying 500 to 1,000 eggs , the distaff die , but the ball remain in her pocketbook until hatch the next bounce .
“ Because the female can not fly around and distribute her testicle in the landscape painting , most of her issue will terminate up feed on the same tree she did . This is why plague work up up over time , ” Iles adds .
Plants That Bagworms Attack
Evergreen bagworms ( one of the most damaging species ) are aboriginal to North America and mainly found in the eastern U.S. and much of the Southeast . They attack more than 100 types of woody plants , primarily evergreens such as :
However , bagworms also will deplete many deciduous plants , admit :
Attacks on deciduous tree diagram show up as small fix in folio ; on evergreens , branch tips turn browned and die . Deciduous plant often recover , but conifers do not rejuvenate new leaf to replace what has die , so a serious infestation can defoliate the canopy and wipe out the tree .
How to Get Rid of Bagworms
There are several ways to address bagworm infestation , bet on the severity . Hand - picking is an environmentally friendly method acting that is practical on balmy infestations and those affecting smaller plant that are easier to reach . Serious plan of attack may call for other measure .
Mechanical Treatment
habituate shear or a knife tocut pocket off branches in late declivity , winter , or early saltation before egg hatch in late May or early June . Burn or crush the bags , drop them in a bucketful of fulsome water or seal them in a plastic base and toss in the rubbish . Do not lead them in the garden , as larvae may return to the emcee plant .
“ Hand - picking is great for smaller plant and circumscribed infestations , ” articulate Iles , who provides educational training and diagnostic overhaul related to home and garden insect pest for Iowa State University . “ The egg of the next multiplication are in the old bag over the winter , so remotion can really boil down or eliminate an infestation . ”
Chemical Treatment
A pesticide spray may be more hardheaded than deal - picking for very large infestations . Be sure to follow all label counsel , and chequer before use that the insecticide is appropriate for the plant life being plow ( some insecticides can hurt specific plant ) .
“ The headstone is address right when the new caterpillars first hatching from eggs in the bagful and initiate feeding , ” say Iles . This is typically from former to mid - June . “ The caterpillar needs to consume the product so as to be killed . young caterpillar are more easy killed and this prevent more damage . handle large caterpillars later in the time of year is not effective . ” A follow - up handling may be necessary if harm continues .
Natural Treatment
Apply insecticidal soaps or insecticides hold Bt ( Bacillus thuringiensisvar.kurstaki),neem crude oil , or spinosad in May or June when caterpillars are less than a half - in long . Multiple applications may be needed . These natural formulations have less impact onbeneficial insectsthat attack bagworms .
“ Organic options such as Bt are very effective . Often , they are dynamic for a short clock time so you want to be certain the caterpillar are present at the time of handling and good traverse the leafage , ” Iles enjoin .
Cultural Treatment
epenthetic wasps and tachinid flies feed on bagworm larvae . you’re able to encourage their comportment by nullify chemical substance sprays . Alsoconsider planting astersand daisy , which are specially just for appeal these good insects when planted near vulnerable plants .
“ good insect allow excellent control of bagworms , ” Iles say , adding they will be attract to apollinator garden full of flowersthat peak at unlike times of the time of year . Sparrows , finches , and other birds prey on bagworms as well , so encourage them to see byplanting fruit- and seed - carry plantsand offering a source of piddle .
When to Call an Arborist
The best option may be to enlist the services of acertified arborist . “ I recommend cultivate with an tree surgeon when the plague is extensive or on taller trees or conifers , ” Iles says . “ Arborists have the equipment needed to adequately treat big trees . ” It also saves the homeowner from have to stack away leftover chemicals .
