Re: Tent caterpillars/web worms
>I'm hoping there's a way to keep them out of the tree next year, that
>doesn't involve spraying high into the tree, because I have no idea
>how we could spray that high, and I'm not crazy about pesticides anyway.
I'm guessing here, but you might want to try what I used for leaf miners
on my birch tree at my old house. There's a systemic pesticide called
Di-syston (I buy the cheaper store brand that claimed to be every bit as
good and was) that you pop into a root feeder every six weeks or so,
beginning in early spring - early April here in the upper Midwest. It's
diazinon, and the tree *drinks* it up from the roots into the leaves and
branches. The reason (my extension officer informed me) you apply every
six weeks is to get as many of the miners from the sporadic hatches
throughout the season. As I said, I'm guessing that if your worms are
eating the leaves, they'd get dosed with the pesticide . . . .
I had a 100 foot, 35 year old birch tree that used to be robbed of leaves
at this time of the year due to leaf miner. Several *feedings* in this
manner had it healthy and beautiful all summer. A little pleasant side
effect of this was that none of the columbine growing under the tree ever
had leaf miner either! I liked the systemic version (versus the spray or
granulaes on the ground) because it was IN the soil below the drip line,
not on top where the kids and pets might get into it.
Of course, I wouldn't do this if I had a well for my water, or if I lived
near a body of water where it might get into. Good luck!!
Pat
USDA Zone 5 Milwaukee suburb - Wisconsin
Pat-Mitchell@juno.com
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