gypsy moths

[sprucebunny]

Is it a gypsy moth year? There are alot of naked trees around here. On a quiet night you can hear the gentle rain of catipillar poo. Talk about yukstuff !!!

[Jeff]

Every year is a gypsy moth year unless you have a spray program or they have met some natural decline. We pay a special millage for gypsy moth control and its one millage that I would gladly pay 10 fold if I had to. If you ever lived through the worst of a gypsy moth infestation you would understand.  Horrible thing.

[Furby]

We have only had a handful of them for the last few years, after being the hardest hit area in the state for a while, and HEAVY spraying.

However we do have more then a few trees that are REALLY, REALLY, sparse this year. Not sure why and more and more people are noticing it. Only thing I can think of it the weather this past winter, spring, and now summer.

[Ron Wenrich]

We had the gypsy moth first hit our area about 25 years ago.  This was pre bT and pre parasitic wasps.  Our state decided to not spray, except in the residential areas.  

You eventually get to the point that the economic input is higher than the economic output.  Their thinking was to let the moth run its course, do salvage cutting, and go on from there.  They also developed natural predators to the moth.

The moth devastated some areas, and hit other areas fairly lightly.  I worked in stands that had 90% oak mortality.  But, these stands have fully recovered.

Now, the moth is a nuisance.  It has 7-9 year cycles, but the outbreaks are nothing like the original outbreak.  It is sporadic in certain areas and much easier to contol.  

A no spray program worked for us, in the long run.  The newer sparys and viruses might have changed our way of thinking, had they been available.

[jgoodhart]

It might not be Gypsy moths chewing on your trees. In this area Gypsy moths would be about over or done by this time of year. We got a new critter that makes the Gypsy moth look like sissies they are also a cataplier and one day the tree have leaves and the next time you look it don't, like 2 days later. They seam to pick on young Red oak trees the most. A article in the paper about 2 years ago said they shouldn't hurt the trees because there yearly cycle is almost complete. I don't know the name of the critter and I went out to the young trees in the yard they have picked on the last few years and couldn't see any. Maybe spraying them worked.

[rebocardo]

I noticed a moth nest on a young tree at the end of my driveway yesterday. Unfortunately it is too high to get at safely, so I think I am going to cut down the tree (only 2 inches wide) and bag the nest. Seems to be the only one.

[Jeff]

Gypsy moths do not have a "nest" per say. You must have something else. Cutting down a healthy tree is akin to burning the barn if you see a mouse.

[jgoodhart]

Got a picture of the critters I mensioned earlier. right now they are about .625" long when they get to about 1.5" they become little poopers and it will sound like rain drops. I don't have a clue what there name is maybe someone elese does?

First time at this picture thing so I hope it works.

[rebocardo]

They have made a silk tent in the top of the tree about 3-4 feet long and about 18 inches wide spanning some branches. I am pretty sure there are caterpillars up there. I thought that was what gypsy moth caterpillars make.

[sprucebunny]

There's a couple of kinds of tent caterpillars. I'd be real interested to know what's eating all the leaves;beech ,oak, maple. The beech seems to be the worst but it could have benn more stressed by drought last year.

[Jeff]

Nope, Gypsy moths lay eggs in small masses that look like this.

http://www.elkforest.com/moth/moth.html

[jgoodhart]

Hey Jeff,  would you tell Sprucebunny to go out to the tree and look for the little green critters pictured above in the post. Here in central Pa there just starting to chew up some leaves.

[sprucebunny]

Well, it's a little hard to LOOK 'cause it's the tops of the trees that are being eaten. The rain of poo has lessened lately. I figured the torrential downpours had knocked the little creeps out of the trees.Today, I was at another location and saw greenish caterpillars that were kind of attached to some alder .They looked sort of like "jgoodhart's photo.They were greener and curled up sucking on the leaves. Guess I'll have to buy a bug book. Peterson's Field Guide to creepy-crawlies?

[Ron Scott]

Not gypsy moth. Pictures look like the cedar leaf miner, but you say they are on oak. Could be oak tent catipillar if "tents" are being developed or any of the other tent catipillars, but colorings are different than those in your photo.

Check with your local extension office. They should be able to give you an acurate ID and suggest any control methods if needed.

[jgoodhart]

Never seen these critters make tents, they do make a mess when you trap on them, get worse when I walk in the house with my shoes on :

On the serous note if these guys can strip a tree in no time at all, like I said makes gypsy moth look like sissies.

[Ron Wenrich]

I've seen those things, but can't tell you exactly what it is.  

If you ever get down around the Michaux State Forest office, you could take some in there.  Otherwise, the extension office should be able to help.  

Yours is located at 1100 Claremont Rd in Carlisle.  Hours are 8 to 4:30.