Caterpillars, caterpillars, everywhere?
Question:ok - so there are caterpillars everywhere - i'm not sure if they are the tent caterpillars, because i haven't seen any nests - but they drop from the trees on big long webs - it's really awful! there are a lot of them -yesterday there were planes dropping pesticides or whatever, how long will it take for this stuff to "kick" in and get rid of the creepy buggers.i have gardening i want to do, but everything is under the trees - and they are all hanging - or how long do i have to put up with them "dropping in"? i just came in from outside, and i feel like there are things crawling on me and i'm itchy - sigh - stupid bugs - so can i do anything about them? how long before the pesticide kicks in?
Answers:
I'm not sure if the crop-dusting planes will have an effect on the kind of caterpillars you describe unless you are in a widespread emergency pestilence situation and the planes are specifically targeting the caterpillars with a BT type bacterial spray. The best defense against the bungee-worms is the effect of natural predators, such as birds and wasps, which are not harmed by BT. You are understandably grossed-out by an invasion such as this, as the worms are really annoying, but they will not harm people. The worst should be over in a week or two, and until then you can attract the mercenary bug-eating birds by providing plenty of water for them in shallow dishes for drinking and bathing. For your comfort when working outdoors, wear a broad-brimmed hat and long- sleeved overshirt and think pleasant thoughts. When you get back to your door, take off the hat and overshirt and shake it out before going inside. You have my sympathies!
i have been seeing them everywhere also. And they are not regular butterflies when they hatch either. They are more like moths. I would check with your closest garden store and ask them.
sounds like web worms and you can get stuff at the local hardware, garden store.
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