Tips For FALL WEBWORMS

Over last couple of months I have noticed the proliferation of pesky fall webworms here in the Charleston, SC area. I have examined dozens of hardwoods festooned with those trashy white tents for clients who call me concerned about the mortality of their pecan and gum trees. Although I’m sure many of them wouldn’t have minded losing the latter, these webworms are unlikely to kill anything except the aesthetic appeal of the landscape. Upon hearing this news most of my clients elect to let nature take its course and simply rake up leaf litter and other detritus that may contain remnants of these annoying moths and either burn or discard it. People with more manicured landscapes may request a treatment to rid themselves of these eyesores. My preferred treatment for these critters is good old-fashioned manual removal followed by an application of Thuricide. Thuricide is a bacterial treatment that only affects leaf- eating caterpillars and is completely safe for humans and pets. You can even eat fruits or vegetables treated with Thuricide a day after application. So if you have these pests in your trees, don’t worry the trees will be fine. Fall webworms are merely an aesthetic problem that can be eliminated safely and naturally, if you choose.