Gypsy Moth Alert
Yes, they are back as we knew they would be. We have
been seeing localized hot spots of tree defoliation on the
Ranch. Not enough to spray for yet, but that does not
mean you cannot do something. In the past when the
Ranch sprayed for gypsy moths, a product know as Btk
was used. Btk is a naturally occurring soil enzyme that
when ingested by the caterpillar kills them by blocking
their digestive track.
So, what can we do? In the late summer the caterpillars
come out of their cocoons as either male (creamy brown)
or female (all white) gypsy moths. The males fly in
bunches near a female which gives off a breeding phero-
mone to attract the males as the female cannot fly. After
the eggs are laid a light tan colored egg mass can be found
on the side of trees, houses, wood piles, the bottom of
stacked rock, bird houses or feeders and decorations on
the side of the houses. In the fall and early spring, you
need to look closely for them and destroy them. How?
You can burn them with a torch, spray them with a prod-
uct called Neem Oil or scrape them off wherever they
are found, with a knife. Once they are scraped off, put
them in soapy water for 48 hours which will kill them.
Another suggestion is to put them in a zip lock bag and
place them in a garbage bag going to the dump. In the
dump there are no trees for them to eat on so they will
die.
Currently, the eggs have hatched and the caterpillars are
in our trees. They come down in the heat of the day and
climb back up in the evening to feed. To keep the cater-
pillars out of the canopy of the tree you can purchase a
product called Tangle Foot. It comes in a kit with paper
banding and you spread the sticky stuff on it when at-
tached to your trees. When they crawl on it, they get
stuck and can’t go up and eat. Tangle Foot also makes a
spray product to be applied to the tree bark. It works like
fly paper. In the evening you can also spray the caterpil-
lars as they are climbing up the trees. You can’t expect to
get them all, however, you can make a difference by work-
ing at it.
If you have questions, I would be happy to answer if I
can. Tangle Foot products are available online from Ama-
zon. Neem Oil is available at hardware stores, TSC, Farm
and Fleet, and online.
For additional information go to our CCR website under
documents.
Go get them!
Nancy Thurston
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