gypsy moth
 

I am seeing a huge rebound this year. they are just everywhere. im seeing this in PA, Blair, cambria, centre, andHuntingdon counties. is anyone else seeing that?? andare there any plans on spraying?

RE: gypsy moth
 

PA Gobbler,

Are you seeing Gypsy Moth caterpillars or Tent caterpillars?
(I'm not saying that you can't identify them , I just ran into this with my dad in Schuylkill Co.........my neice had a bunch in a cup and they were Tent caterpillars. He insisted they were gypsy moths

I'll post a couple pictures of their nests / egg casings and the mature caterpillars for comparison:

First is the Gypsy moth egg casings:

RE: gypsy moth
 

The mature Gypsy moth caterpillar:

RE: gypsy moth
 

Here is the Tent caterpillar nests so familiar in PA:

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And the mature Forest Tent caterpillar:(Edit not the same as the Eastern Tent variety)

RE: gypsy moth
 

TONS of tent caterpillars in Bradford County. When you drive over them on the road they make an audible snap noise............I don't know if I have ever seen that many. I hope they don't affect the foliage.........[&:]

RE: gypsy moth
 

Matt- i would guess that you are right and im seeing Tent cats. though i dont think they look like that pic but since i am seeing so many i would say that they arent gypsy's. thanks for the pics and help.

RE: gypsy moth
 

Matt,

That actually isn't a nest (I don't think), just a bunch of the damn things eating (nests are the white, silky, tent-like structures with the very young catipillars). We have lucked out so far in my immediate area (house, woods, etc.). I did hear of some woodlot owners nearby me spraying them by helicopter (at some astronomical price per load). Last year was aweful - I litterally could walk around the house without stepping on one (each step!!!) - they do make a funny popping sound when stepped on and have funny looking inards. I eneded up spraying around the house with stuff that would kill them when they walked through it (as well as spot spraying, and burning, and.......). They said this year would be even worse because of the mild winter, but must be the late cold snap did some damage. We did spray the tree in my front yard with something once we started to see nests. It seemed to work quite well - the tree actually has all/most of its leaves. I have heard the farther north you go in NY the worse they get. I saw whole mountain sides of bare trees last summer in the Adirondacks. The trees can withstand that kind of pressure for only a couple years before they die.

RE: gypsy moth
 

Look behind it.......;)

RE: gypsy moth
 

Had them bad in WV about three years ago. It was so bad, you'd ride through the woods and think it was winter with little leaf cover. There is some kind of blight that kills them after it rains though. The key is to kill enough that next year's numbers are much lower. If trees get hit a few years in a row, they're done.

Edit: Sorry Doug........I was trying to edit MY post. LOL After 7 yrs you'd think I would know whatI'm doing here.:eek::D

RE: gypsy moth
 

We had the Tent, and Forest caterpillars here in CNY for the last 2 yrs. They hit us hard, stripped all the hard maples & oaks both yrs. The forest caterpillar is the one that does most the damage. They're not the ones that make the tents. I used SEVIN spray to kill the bastards all around my house. It works well. Far as protecting your tree's soon as show up, wrap plastic wrap around them a few feet up. Then take some vaseline, and wipe it onto the plastic wrap. They won't crawl up past the sticky vaseline.
They have been moving southward for the past 4-5 yrs. They started northern NY, possibly Canada, and have moved south. They're in Southern NY, and PA now. You will have to deal with them for 2 seasons. So do all you can to protect any tree's you consider valuable. They can kill tree's from consecutives yrs of defoliating them. The maples & oaks will releaf, but it takes alot of nutrients from the tree, making it suspectable to other environmental conditions, and diseases.
The two are easily identifiable. The tent variety has a solid strip down its back. These I wouldn't be too concerned about, they do minor tree damage. The Forest has white dots down its back. They can devour a full size tree in just a few days. You'll hear their droppings hitting the ground so much it sounds like rain! They also will web down from above like a spider. They are terrible, and I feel for all of you on dealing with it.

Matt/PA the pic you posted of a mature Tent Caterpillar is actually the mature Forest Caterpillar variety. The tent variety is similar to that, but with a solid white stripe.

Here's a link w/pics & info on them via NYSDEC websight.
www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7111.html

RE: gypsy moth
 

Cool.......learn something new everyday on here.:)

So they are both tent nesting types but one is just more destructive and a little different in appearance?

Edit: I see it now. I think I was thinking of the row of white dots just down from the solid stripe. The ones my dad has are definitely the tent variety and the pic I showed sure is the forest tent variety.
This link shows them side by side too:

http://www.tent-caterpillar.com/

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Thanks guys, very informative. I had a nest of them in my weeping cherry tree. Killed them all with wasp spray.

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my hunting spots in the pine barrens of new jersey were hit very bad last year. it looked like winter in august with the missing foliage. the poconos are loaded with them again this year. its funny how you dont hear anything about spraying for them.

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http://www.wearecentralpa.com/content/fulltext/?cid=451



Gypsy Moth Concerns[/align]Reported by: Chris Cekot[/i][/align]
Saturday, Jun 9, 2007 @11:12pm[/i][/align]UNIVERSITY PARK, CENTRE COUNTY - Gypsy moths are out in force in parts of the Mid-Atlantic.Penn State scientists say they've never seen such a quick development of gypsy moth larvae before.Experts are predicting an especially bad year for trees, primarily oaks, which are the caterpillars' favorite snack.Forestry officials report nearly 700,000 acres of forests were defoliated last year because of the persistent bugs and this year could be worse.The critters are expected to cause damage in central and northeast Pennsylvania.

RE: gypsy moth
 

here are pics of the two that ive been seeing. my guess is the first one is a gypsy sorry about the pics they were off my cell

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and this one a tent

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what can be done to keep them off my trees, besides picking them off?

RE: gypsy moth
 

Here in south Jersey we have them bad ( galloway Township ). The township didn't spray this year, but I heard that next year they will spray again. We have some spots that don't have any leaves at all for miles. Now they are in the moth stage and laying eggs. The leaves are coming back for a second round.

RE: gypsy moth
 

I have been working for G.O.Hawbaker inc. for the past 3 mos ,,,driving east and west on I80 in the dump truck and from mile marker 161 west to the 130 is totally eaten up with those moths,,,both sides of 80 there is not a leafon an oak tree,,,now where i live off the mile marker 185 there seems to be no issues as of yet

RE: gypsy moth
 

I was at a 3D shoot today in Halifax, PA and the place was seriously infested.........every oak tree was shredded from the top down and there were so many of the adult moths flying around that you could hardly concentrate on shooting.
Some of the trees were just alive with caterpillars and moths.

They were really taking a beating.[:-]

Got some real up close looks at the Gypsy moth caterpillars, once you refresh your memory as to the physical differences between the tents and Gypsys there is no confusing them.

Also a buddy i was shooting with said that the Gypsp caterpillars have tiny spines that will get you and can cause an infection because they are so small you can't get them out.......just as I was about to pick one up and flip him around in my hand.[:o] Not sure if it's true but I stopped on a dime.