Re: NYers beware: tent caterpillars

I'm not a birder, no experience with tent caterpillars, but I do know that
many "suburban neighborhood...birds [that] like to have their food handed to
them in a pretty bird feeder"  would consider the caterpillars a delicacy,
they just have to be able to get to it.  I bet opening the tent would be
like opening the doors of a gourmet retaurant and they'd skip McDonalds in
favor of it.  Noreen wrote, "We  used to get rid of all wasps nests...but
since then we  leave a few that are out of the path of traffic just for this
purpose."  Unless a wasp nest poses a potential hazard ( I had one in my
compost bin once) I'd leave them alone.  Beneficial bugs of all kinds endure
hardships from sprays, diseases, etc, and we need to encourage those that we
have.  I always see all sorts of wasps in my garden and they virtually never
bother me.  I never use any sort of fragrance, that may be why.

Kitty

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Daryl" <pulis@mindspring.com>
To: <gardenchat@hort.net>
Sent: Monday, May 09, 2005 1:41 PM
Subject: Re: [CHAT] NYers beware: tent caterpillars


> As I said, you need to break open the tent. Critters, especially birds,
can
> get tangled in it, so they don't go there. Once it's open, they do.
>
> d
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: <EvaTEsq@aol.com>
> To: <gardenchat@hort.net>
> Sent: Sunday, May 08, 2005 7:31 PM
> Subject: Re: [CHAT] NYers beware: tent caterpillars
>
>
> > I wish the birds and other creatures in my yard were that ambitious.
The
> > caterpillars would have my trees knawed down to the branches before the
> birds
> > figured out they were there.  I live in a suburban neighborhood and
> around
> > here the birds like to have their food handed to them in a pretty bird
> feeder.
> >
> > Eva
> > Long  Island, NY
> > Zone 6/7
> >
> > In a message dated 5/8/2005 3:39:46  P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
> > pulis@mindspring.com writes:
> >
> >
> > Eva,
> >
> > Why spray? If you break open the tent a bit, the birds and  other
> creatures
> > will get them. I even had a parade of hornets carry off  every one a few
> > years ago. And if the tent itself offends you, it's easy  just to cut it
> off
> > of the branch.
> >
> > No point in poisoning beneficial  insects and other critters just to get
> rid
> > of  'em.
> >
> > d
>
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