Tent Caterpillar Damage and Tapping

[ELM_DALE_MAPLE]

Is anybody cutting down on taps per tree or anything because of the tent caterpillar damage last summer. I've heard different opinions on it. I really am concerned about stressing out the trees too much.

[tappin&sappin]

Interesting - first I have heard of this.

- Jake

[ELM_DALE_MAPLE]

Up here in Northcentral PA the canopy was devastated this last Spring/Summer by these worms. The leaves started to come back but not to full size. Too many taps per tree could stress the tree and if we get hit again this year who knows...

[3rdgen.maple]

We had the same problem here with them for a few years in a row. They only hit the sugarmaples and not the reds. I questioned a forester the first year of the devastation and he highly recomended not to even tap any that where hit. I tapped the reds and sugars that never got touched and out of curiosity I tapped one sugar maple. Needless to say it died that summer. It could be coincidence but that was my experience. Good news is the tent worms go in cycles and it will come to an end. They were so bad here you could not even see the trunk of the trees. You could not walk any where near one without a hair full of crap. If I sat on the porch I could hear them chewing away. I sprayed the little %*(&$#%) on the yard trees and I had to use a shovel to scoop them up. One tree alone I filled 2 5 gallon buckets with them. Good news is all the trees recovered and are producing well.

[pennslytucky]

could you elaborate a bit on what you sprayed and where? just out of curiousity, mostly.:)

[3rdgen.maple]

I new I was gonna get asked that question and I cannot remember exacally but I think it was a bleach solution the forester told me to mix up. I just sprayed the catipillars that were on the trunk of the trees. I do remember however he told me before the infestation period starts if you put saran wrap around the base of the trees and coat it with vasoline they cannot climb the trees. I did try it on some small sugars and it did work but It just seemed to time consuming to do it to the big old maples. I will ask my dad what it was that I used cause He did the same and he usually write stuff like that down for future use.

[Turtlecreek]

I had a bit of a infestation the other year and I used some liquid seven killed em dead. I used the kind that you just put on the garden hose and spray. They were only on an ornimental cherry, and maybe one other tree that we have in the front yard so I didn't have to spray too high to get them