Question
QUESTION: My neighbor has what I believe to be webworm in her trees. Both trees totally covered in web sacks. Now we have caterpillars everywhere- all over the outside of our house, the yard, the pool. I'm scared to go outside due to these little monsters. What can I do? Please help. Neighbor could careless about the trees or the caterpillars that are taking over. Thanks for any information.

ANSWER: Billie:
Many people confuse the fall webworm with the tent caterpillar. Sounds like you have the webworm, especially if the sacks are out near the ends of the branches.. Your control options are almost nil.  They may do a lot of defoliation, but if the tree is taken care of , then these critters usually have minimal overall effect on the health and the tree will put on another crop of leaves next spring. Getting an insecticide to the insect is the issue. Often webs/trees are too high to reach.  But if you can reach the webs with a spray, some folks use a product called Dipel or Bt. Otherwise,just live with it since these insects are usually more of a cosmetic issue than health concerns.

Steve

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QUESTION: Since I have to deal with this problem- how long will the caterpillars hang around. By the way what becomes of them? Butterfly, spider?
Thank you for your help. Hope you have a nice Labor Day.

Answer
Hi Billie:
These critters can have 2-3 generations per year in my part of the world. The caterpillars leave the web, crawl down the tree or drop down out of the web to the ground where they pupate in the leaf litter below.  Pupae turn into a moth in the spring, then lay eggs that turn into caterpillars again. Raking the leaves or otherwise disturbing the pupae on the soil surface/leaf litter may help manage populations.

Steve