Knehrke
5 year old buck +
It's no surprise I guess given the number of egg masses that appeared last fall and the hordes of dead moths that we needed to clean out of the tower blinds, but this year is shaping up to be a real winner. My wife and I noticed that nearly all of our small hardwood and fruit trees have small caterpillars on them, and the leaves are already showing signs of extensive damage.
How many of you have suffered through a gypsy moth scourge? I've heard that trees can become completely defoliated, but that they may generate a second flush after the caterpillars pupate. Have you experienced losses from gypsy moth? Or do most of the trees recover once the scourge has collapsed? Any idea of whether young trees are particularly susceptible, or the impact on hardwoods versus fruit trees? Frankly, it was tough walking through the property, wondering whether the thousands of hours over the past ten years is going to come unglued in a single season.
I'd consider spraying, but the volume of trees is prohibitive, and many are still in tubes, making it difficult to access the lower leaves. Additionally, the bacillus type sprays require that the moths to consume the bacteria-covered leaves in order to be effective. With the magnitude of this year's outbreak, I suspect that it wouldn't make a difference. And it's infeasible for me to spray once a week or after every rain. What to do? Maybe nothing, just pray.
How many of you have suffered through a gypsy moth scourge? I've heard that trees can become completely defoliated, but that they may generate a second flush after the caterpillars pupate. Have you experienced losses from gypsy moth? Or do most of the trees recover once the scourge has collapsed? Any idea of whether young trees are particularly susceptible, or the impact on hardwoods versus fruit trees? Frankly, it was tough walking through the property, wondering whether the thousands of hours over the past ten years is going to come unglued in a single season.
I'd consider spraying, but the volume of trees is prohibitive, and many are still in tubes, making it difficult to access the lower leaves. Additionally, the bacillus type sprays require that the moths to consume the bacteria-covered leaves in order to be effective. With the magnitude of this year's outbreak, I suspect that it wouldn't make a difference. And it's infeasible for me to spray once a week or after every rain. What to do? Maybe nothing, just pray.