Do you have webworms in your trees this year? If you’re a Lincoln County resident, the answer is probably yes.
A webworm is a premature moth in the caterpillar stage.
Webworm season spans from June to August at the very least and sometimes if a second generation is produced it lasts into October.
Though it’s only a moderate webworm season in Lincoln County, the pests’ presence still sticks out like a sore thumb.
“Webworms form the nest on the tips of the tree branches. It’s always really easy to notice them whenever you’re out driving around and seeing them on a lot of small trees,” said Cody Linker Oklahoma State Agricultural Educator for the Lincoln County extension.
For the first four to six weeks, the caterpillar feeds in the nest until it reaches an inch and three quarters size, when it begins to leave the nest and feed at night.
Once winter comes, the caterpillar will leave the web and form a pupal case on the tree bark to hide in.
You’d figure such a complex cycle would require a specific tree, but that’s not the case at all.
“They’ll be on basically any tree, anything from persimmons, pecans, hickories, sweet gums, crab apples, any elms, you can find them on any of those,” Linker said.
Those are specific to Oklahoma, but the insects footprint ranges across 600 different North American trees.
How many webworms a location gets depends on the climate and conditions. Quantities may vary, but regardless they’re all over the place.
There are solutions to lessen the presence of the pest, though.
“As soon as you notice them you can use bacillus thuringiensis sprays and direct it at the web and if they come out of the web, maybe you can get decent control on them,” Linker said. “Or you could just go natural because there’s a lot of natural predators. If you open that bag the natural predators will get them. You can also trim that tree up where the web was and burn them.”
These three methods could prove useful in preventing the defoliation of small trees after infestation.
You might be asking why not stop them before they start? Well, it’s not that simple.
“It’s tricky because they go down to lay eggs and most pesticides don’t have a long residual,” Linker said. “You got options to control them, it’s just tough to spray anything and actually know if you’re going to get them. It’s not a waste of money, but I’d rather wait until the webs are completely on there.”
The recommended sprays are bacillus thuringiensis and sevin, but they’re often ineffective due to the insect hiding under ground or bark.
It’s possible webworms don’t bother you at all. Though if they do, now you know how to deal with them and what methods you can use.