There's bug eating my trees! Help!?
Question:In my front yard, I have two Blue Spruce trees. They have been then for at least three years, maybe more. Until this year, they have been doing extremely well. In recent weeks, they've both turned an aweful shade of brown and have almost no green left on them. Today I went to take a closer look at the trees, and there are little green worms with red heads ALL OVER the branches. They're eating the trees!
Does anyone know what these worms are called, and how do I get rid of them without harming the trees??
PS: I'm from Ontario, Canada.
Answers:
Conifer sawflies?
These are small green worms (actually wasp larvae) with red heads that eat spruce needles. They are easiest to control when young. The link I've included discusses various control methods: http://www.entomology.umn.edu/cues/web/1...
Insecticidal soaps and pyrethrins are low toxic approaches to control. Imidacloprid can be applied in early spring as a root drench that is translocated by the tree to the needles. Any sawfly larvae ingesting the needles will die and you will not need to spray! If you use the horticultural oils, be aware that these oils will dissolve the natural wax coating on your blue spruce needles. It's this wax that gives the Colorado Blue Spruce its blue coloring. They will be green after the application of a horticultural oil.
Spray them w/ Sevin or another product that will kill caterpillars. You will probably have to spray them a few times over the next month to get rid of them for good.
If you only want to spray once and also decrease the population for next year- use Suspend SC. We had stinging caterpillars really bad last year and that stuff will kill almost any insect, plus it can last up to 3 months. (Ppl sometimes mix it w/ paint when painting the outside of their home to keep bugs and mosquitoes away.)
I'm not sure of the specific species- (I'm from the lower US) but I'm 100% sure that it's a caterpillar or some type of larva and not a worm. Possibly a knobbly type caterpillar if it's not hairy and also lacks horns. Either way, Sevin or Suspend will take of your pest problem.
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