I hate these things

[leexrayshady]

And couldn't spray cause my little cheap gallon sprayer broke

 

[Freeborn]

Me to, tent caterpillars are a pain in the butt. I have killed a bunch of them this year and probably will need to kill a bunch more. Is there any chance they stop being a problem later in the summer?

 

[MM Ryan]

I haven't had many problem with caterpillars on fruit trees. At least not yet. I've seen and sprayed a few but nothing too bad. The Japanese Beetles are a different story. They do a lot of damage really quick. Those have been my main pest so far.

 

[kskid]

Is there any chance they stop being a problem later in the summer?

On my place they will swarm over a small tree or limb and defoliate it, but the leaves pop right back out. The trees don't seem to mind it much. I'm guessing it slows down the groth some. Typically it's once & done, although the unsightly webbing will remain until next spring. Some years there are more than others. I used to cut the webs out of the tree and burn them just for spite, but it was a lot of work and never seemed to make a difference. Every once in a while I find a big mass of them making their way up the trunk or limb. I can't resist mashing the whole wad against the tree. I tried using them for bait, but the bluegill and bass seemed to hate them as much as I did. :(

 

[CrazyEd]

I had some tent caterpillars, pain in the butt is right.

 

[buckvelvet]

If I see them I feed them to my chickens, take that you little bastards! Jap beetles are my enemy also, much more so than any worm.

 

[chummer]

Tent caterpillars will kill a tree if they hit two years in a row. One place I hunt has acres of dead trees from them being bad two years in a row. I am lucky with the Jap Beatles at my camp, I have never seen one!

 

[gstrom99]

Are these an issue only on fruit trees/bushes? What're you spraying them with?

 

[CrazyEd]

Are these an issue only on fruit trees/bushes? What're you spraying them with?

I hit tent caterpillars with Malathion.

 

[BJE80]

Do they hit the trees before they are fruit bearing?

 

[OHIOShedder]

I just spray the tent with any insecticide and kill em. I usually hit them with a wasp spray because they sell it in cans that spray far enough to reach up high into the trees.

 

[kskid]

I only see them in persimmon and walnut on my place (both pre and post fruit bearing age). Never lost a tree to them. I never sprayed since they're usually here and gone so quickly. However, when I was researching them I think I read to spray early morning or late evening when the bugs are out feeding. Otherwise they're protected inside the web/tent. Not sure, though.

 

[Freeborn]

I like to kill them early morning when it's cooler as most of the caterpillars are in the web that way I can get them in one spot. I pull out the web, stomp on it and then spray everything I can find. If you spray later in the day they are crawling all over the branches and they are harder to kill.

 

[Lot2Learn]

Do they hit the trees before they are fruit bearing?

I'm afraid they do. Here's a picture of one of my newly planted trees that got decimated earlier this year.

Luckily, as per the advice gathered here, they bounced back nicely after getting some Sevin on the trees.