Question
While sitting on the patio surrounded by an arborvitae hedge my husband noticed that the buds on one of the shrubs was moving.  Upon closer inspection, he noticed that some of the buds were moving so he pulled one off and squeezed out a brown-black worm.  Two of our shrubs are completely dead in less than a week and I'm sure it is due to these vermin.  What are they and how do we get rid of them before they kill the rest of our shrubs?  Will they kill the spruces that we have on the perimeter of our yard, some of which are over 50 years old?  
Awaiting your quick reply,
Marla

Answer
Dear Marla

Thank you for your question.  I am not an expert on trees (I believe that your arborvitae is a conifer) and I can understand why you are worried about your spruce!  I would recommend that you contact one of the tree experts on this website.  If you really can't get an answer from there let me know and I'll see what I can do.