I live in New England, and I didn't think last year's gypsy moth problem could be exceeded. I was wrong. This year we have a full fledged infestation all over the neighborhood/town and beyond.
Let me say up front that I'm not particularly squeamish about critters! I did many years of nature walks and ant farms and so on with my son. I'm considered a delicacy, apparently, by mosquitos and May flies. I don't know if you have the latter - small black flies that come in May, generally, and which leave horribly itchy bites, which are hot and can leave redness/swelling that is 2-4 inches across. Let me also say that these are absolutely not tick bites or bullseyes. The doctor confirmed by only recommended hydrocortisone cream and ice - which don't make a dent.
So this year, the gypsy moth caterpillars are so ubiquitous that our 60 foot oak trees are full stripped - you'd think it was mid-winter. I don't know if the trees will recover. The entire neighborhood looks like it's littered with millions of poppy seeds - gypsy moth poop. And of course the healthy green leaves are cut into many pieces and covering lawns/streets.
For the first time ever, neighbors are complaining about welts and red marks - if you google "gypsy moth poisoning", you can see the photos. It comes from the small hairs on the caterpillars feet, but they also are so fine they can spread through the air. So far no one is complaining of respiratory symptoms, so "poisoning" does seem like a strong term, but we're pretty miserable. I haven't found a treatment that helps - no baking soda paste, no hydrocortisone cream, etc.
There is no state wide program I'm aware of, as there is with mosquito spraying (Massachusetts does it for free if you sign up). I'm wondering if any of you have experienced this gypsy moth issue, what you would do at this point, and what you would do next winter/spring before they hatch. Tree companies advertise a spray program before the young caterpillars can climb up the trunks to the trees, others advertise something sticky you tape around the trunk to catch the newly hatched caterpillar (not practical in our wooded area on a grand scale). A friend in Maine told me their neighbors all banded together to share the cost of a spray treatment, and it worked. But that won't be until next spring so I'm researching options now
Do you have the caterpillars in your areas? Have any of you done any of these things? What worked, what didn't, what was/wasn't worth the cost? What questions would you pose to treatment companies? We have a great neighborhood and a good email network, so organizing wouldn't be a problem. It's a matter of finding the right strategy & price and timing.
Thanks for your advice/experience!
Growing up we used tinfoil for the tent variety - and some people lathered on shortening on top of the tinfoil. Don't think it was necessary but would make more slippery. That and removing the nests. Good luck
Thank goodness we don't have anywhere near that this year. Our town puts out traps but I rarely see a caterpillar. However one year when I was a kid in NY we had a summer like you are describing. You could hear them chewing. You couldn't walk under an oak tree because they would be all over you - in your hair and crawling on you (making those awful red marks). The following year people wrapped their trees (to keep the caterpillars from climbing) and they came up with the pheromone traps but we never had another year nearly as bad.
Here in Oregon, gypsy moth traps are not an unusual sight. Here's one:
https://www.amazon.com/Springstar-GM24-SpringStar-Gypsy-M...
They usually have the ones here marked, out in the public. Our family hasn't been directly affected (none of our trees seem attractive to them).
I would ask about the treatment's toxicity to pets and humans, is it water soluble, how does it stay on the tree, etc.
I grew up in Massachusetts and went to college there too, so I'm really familiar with gypsy moths! Hate them!
I don't know if there's anything that can be done after the destruction is over, but it's possible that a local pest control company might be able to at least clean up the mess.
As for the stings and burning, although my daughter's issues don't come from gypsy moths, she certainly has had more than her share of skin problems. We've had success with a couple of products: Dermoplast spray and Biofreeze. We find Dermoplast at places like Target and Walmart, and ordered Biofreeze from Amazon. They are among the very few products that offer relief from stinging and intense itching. They feel cold. We've given up on antihistamines and anti-itching stuff - they don't even begin to touch dd's angry skin.
Hope that helps a little. I'm so sorry to hear about the destruction of trees.
Oh, and we always used tape, like duct tape or strong packaging tape, when a gypsy caterpillar touched us. Their teeny tiny hairs can remain in the skin, almost invisible. Place a big piece of tape over the area and rip it off. Use a new piece of tape every time. The other things that some people use is wax (like for hair removal) or cosmetic masks (the kind that you put on skin to remove impurities, not the kind of mask that you wear).
I remember this from the 80s when I used to live in New England. It was unreal. We had our trees sprayed -- as did everyone else. I can only imagine how bad it was for us to spray back then in addition to having planes fly overhead to routinely spray for mosquitoes, too. Whenever we would find a caterpillar nest we would cut it from the tree and burn it. Wow. Did not think that an epidemic like this would return again. I do not live in New England anymore and will ask my siblings about how it is in their neighborhoods.
the only way to get rid of them is to burn them - like tent moths.
Midway down this page is a list of things homeowners can try for personal management.
I hate those hairy little things. I can recall, as a kid, everyone put a sticky tape on their trees to keep the caterpillars from crawling up to the leaves. Do they still sell that. Not that it seems to matter at this point. Here in NY, I am really starting to see them more and more every day. I wonder if that is the reason that the allergy season has been so bad this year???
Updated
I hate those hairy little things. I can recall, as a kid, everyone put a sticky tape on their trees to keep the caterpillars from crawling up to the leaves. Do they still sell that. Not that it seems to matter at this point. Here in NY, I am really starting to see them more and more every day. I wonder if that is the reason that the allergy season has been so bad this year???
We had a terrible 3-year infestation about 15 years ago here (Long Island) and it seems to have started up again last year. I had my trees sprayed about 3 weeks ago and that eliminated a lot of them. It's my understanding that it's too late now for spraying and you should definitely focus on next spring to catch them early.
Apparently, healthy trees can take up to 3 years of defoliation. More than that and they will be killed off. We had a number of less-healthy trees here that were destroyed by the gypsy moths in that really bad infestation back in the early 2000s. I had my trees sprayed back then too and that saved most of mine. The first year I experienced the infestation it was impossible to get a company to come spray (they were very overbooked), so I tried that tape trick - you wrap duct tape around the tree trunk, sticky side out. It helped a little. The disgusting critters were finally killed off for good one year when we had a very wet early summer and they were infected with some kind of fungus. I'm sure not happy that they're back and that is why I jumped on spraying right away this year when it seemed they would be bad again. I hate spraying because of the toxins and the fact that it destroys good insects too, but in this situation it's totally worth it.
And yes, something about their hair is very irritating. Both my son and I have had very runny noses and coughs since they starting coming out. I really can't stand them! Their poop is really the worst. Best of luck eradicating them next year.
