We have a beautiful cherry tree that has these little webs on a few of the branches and they are full of small catipillers. I think they are killing the tree because the branches they were on last year are dead.
We also have a big beautiful tree right in front of our house that is dying. Our neighbors just cut down a dead tree in their yard and the guy said it was full of worms.
Does anyone know of a tree expert in the area (lakeville, MN) I could contact to come look at our trees and see if we can save them? I would be devastated if we lost either tree, they block the traffic and are so beautiful.
Or has anyone ever had these tree problems and what did you do?
We had web worms in our pecan tree. Arborists are expensive and I am a DIY gal so I used an insecticide and a hand held sprayer that I bought at Home depot. I put it on "stream" and sprayed them myself. They started falling on the ground which was pretty gross. I didn't cut the limbs. The tree is fine now. You can get bottles of insecticide that hook up to the hose and will spray pretty far up into the tree.
Good luck.
You've got great advice so far.
The only thing I have to add is that if the branches are dead, clip them off immediately and bag them up, caterpillars and all, if you can. Otherwise, yes, an arborist is necessary. They may be able to help you clear out the caterpillars and save the fruit.
Cut off the dead branches that will help the tree. Home Depot carries a botanical spray that kills the insects and is safe for trees, plants, animals and people.
I had tree that were attacked by gypsy moths and they came back the next year with no problems. You should still have the trees pruned to help keep them healthy.
I got webby buggy things in my plants last year. I cut a sample off the end of a branch, secured it in a ziploc bag and took it to a locally owned nursery/garden center, one of those places where the staff is familiar with local plants and pests. (Another place to try is your local extension service, ours is through Oregon State University and they have gardening experts available to help anyone who asks.) They recommended an insecticidal soap oil spray. It was less toxic than regular poison, more like an oil that suffocated the bugs. It attached to my garden hose and had to be reapplied, so it was a little more work than just spraying insecticide but better for the environment. Plants look good so far this year.
This year those things appeared on both our trees. My husband cut off and burnt three branches with those sacs full of worms that kept appearing. He also sprayed the trees with chemicals, after which they stopped appearing on branches. The trees are fine now.
AK, I'm not in your area so can't make a specific recommendation, but look up "arborists" in your area either online or in the yellow pages if such a thing still exists. ("Tree services" do not always employ trained arborists!) You need a certified arborist who is educated in these kinds of problems. It sounds as if the issue might also be one with which a service like Orkin could help you -- the issue is an insect, so it might be an exterminator you need as well as, or in place of, an arborist. It will not be cheap but it's worth it to get the trained professionals in either case -- we use an arborist every few years to check the huge trees on our lot for general health and it gives us a lot of peace of mind.
