In God’s world, the insect’s role is to remove the unhealthy plants from the landscape. This natural recycling action provides more space for new plants to flourish, and uses the unhealthy plant as an organic nutrient source for the remaining plant populations. Insects invade unhealthy or environmentally stressed plants by feeding off of the plants vascular system. They often attack the leaves, and/or woody parts of the plant, and feed on the “sugar rich” sap. In the urban landscape, regular beneficial organic treatments, and pro-active insect inspections can keep the homeowner’s property free of major insect infestations.
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Hi,
I ran across your site/blog while looking for a natural remedy to a nasty infestation of inchworms, or silkworms, that are parachuting themselves down from the large trees above and are everywhere I look. The cars are even covered so badly you have to hose them off before getting in. I’m sure you get the idea and I apologize in advance for carrying on.
Last spring these things ‘cleaned house’. Leaving only skeletons of the foliage on the shrubs, flowering vines, and almost every leaf on the large trees surrounding the house.
Since I sold my home last year, I’m currently sharing a house, in plaza midwood, with a man who is also the homeowner. I highly doubt he will dish out a lot of money for a company to do all the much needed work that should be done. (IE. Removing a huge dying Oak from the front yard, or getting rid of this infestation of silkworms). I’m hoping if maybe he is informed of the importance of what needs to be done, maybe he’ll act. In the meanwhile, any advice on how to diminish the number of worms everywhere, would be greatly appreciated. I’m aware of the product BT which I’m hesitant on using and of course banding the trees; which should’ve been done in the fall. A more practical & easy treatment for a non professional I’ve heard about is using vinegar & dawn. But I’m not sure about any of these so any input on a DIY fix that you could give me would’ve greatly appreciated! I would also likr to find out an approximate cost of treating the current infestation & possibly preventing future ones.
Sarah. I am sorry that I did not see your note earlier. BT is a natural bacteria that is applied to the canopies of the trees. The worms ingest the bacteria when feeding on the leaves. The bacteria kills the worms by destroying their intestinal systems. BT has a very short lifespan and must be ingested to be affective. It also cannot be applied easily to tall trees. The city has used BT in the past via aerial spray. Best practice is to band the trees in the winter months to keep the females from laying eggs in the tree canopy. Shrub Doctor has been successful in killing the hatched worms with our orchard fogging machines. We can reach up to 35ft. We have experimented with organic methods to kill the worms but have never found a successful product. Even BT is not 100% effective. As a service provider Shrub Doctor must make sure our treatments meet the expectation of the customer. I hope this note has been informative. Thanks Mark Tally, Vise-President and Senior Arborist Shrub Doctor Inc.