# Who here loves tent worms????



## ryan-b (Sep 18, 2009)

I hate them!!! This is just a portion of my house.They are at plague levels this year up here :yikes::yikes:
















This is just some of my deck with all their crap!!


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## redshirt32 (Aug 20, 2003)

We had quite a few last year around St. Helen but nothing like that. I can see why you hate them.

They sprayed for them this year in my area and all of the tents that I saw were wiped out.


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## ryan-b (Sep 18, 2009)

These are forest tent worms. We have 3 types up here. Canopy,forest and regular tent worms. The canopy ones are always on the move and eating. They wipe out miles and miles of folage on the trees. Its really bad up here and they dont spray for them any longer.


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## swampbuck (Dec 23, 2004)

They finished spraying Roscommon county yesterday.......Maybe you should try getting some residents together and try to get the County to put a program in place. Maybe they could consult with Roscommon county, They do a good job with a limited budget. I would start by going to a county commishioner meeting.Have picture/documentation to show them.


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## Linda G. (Mar 28, 2002)

This part of Antrim County hasn't ever seen them like this as far as I know-I've been here since 1984 and although we've had tent caterpillar invasions, especially on the east side of the county, (3rd or 4th year in a row that there won't be any wild cherries at all for the gamebirds), this is the second year of the forest tents, and the first on this side. 

I have the trees that I'm concerned about, two silver birches that have been stressed by gypsy moths in the past, double taped with the sticky side out, and that's helping to keep all the worms off except the ones blown into the trees by the wind. I was so busy worrying about those trees and my young lilacs, which they're eating just as they are blooming for the first time ever, that I didn't notice till yesterday that they are devouring my American chestnuts. I washed those with soap and water, twice now, and have the trunks taped, I'm sure the leaves will come back on these trees as they are young and healthy, but I have to try.

I had to turkey hunt in them this morning, and by 8:30 it was like the house of horrors out there. Had nice tom at about 80 yards when I had one drop out of a tree right onto my face mask...LOL...I must have flinched, cause that tom disappeared. There was five on my gun barrel when that happened, and about a hundred on me...

Shanty Creek and the surrounding area got together this year and had a huge area of the county sprayed...it rained the next day, and then it got cold, so the worms weren't feeding, which they have to do to be poisoned by the BT...the worms are as bad as last year over there, and the residents and resort are out $150,000 or more...


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## swampbuck (Dec 23, 2004)

they only spray here when the weather forcast is perfect, hence the diifference in time between red shirts and my sprayings. (opposite sides of county.

That should not have happened to shany creek


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## NATTY BUMPO (May 12, 2001)

ryan-b said:


> I hate them!!! This is just a portion of my house.They are at plague levels this year up here :yikes::yikes:


I feel your pain, RB...............

The forest caterpillars are at levels of biblical propotions in Leelanau Co this year. Ditto parts of GT and Antrim Counties as well. The old timers here last saw this type of deforestation some 20 years ago.

Their favorite targets are the big, mature sugar (hard) maples. And our house, garage, pole barn etc are surrounded by some giants. These have been completely denuded and now they are starting on the beeches, ash, ironwoods, and other lesser species, etc.

There is very little understanding about Bacillus Thurigensis and how it works by the media, both print and TV. It *is not* a contact pesticide. Many of the resorts, neighborhood associations, etc here sprayed way too late, the caterpillars were already down out of the tops of the trees. BT is a biological and conditions have to be just right and at the right stage for it to work well. The spray companies know better but took the money and flew away anyway.:idea:

NB


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## redshirt32 (Aug 20, 2003)

All of the tents in my area were low to the ground and on soft trees. I don't believe I've ever saw the high forest tents around St. Helen and if I did, I didn't know what I was looking at.

Are they kind of hard to see?


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## Linda G. (Mar 28, 2002)

no, when mature they are extremely visible...when they started moving out of the forest across my road to the houses on the lake here, you could see them moving in waves, millions of them...the heat appears to be getting to them, I think another few days will do it...

and then there's next year...they say they high cycle for 2-3 years, then crash.


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## Michael Wagner (Jul 17, 2007)

We`ve had our place in Frederic since "81" and this has to be one of the worst years I`ve seen, driving out this morning there were thousands of them hanging down and coming out of the trees.


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## ryan-b (Sep 18, 2009)

I think your right about the heat. Im noticing less and alot of them seem to be dieing.


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