ARE THINGS GONNA GET CREEPY CRAWLY AGAIN?

Now with the nicer weather, enjoyable long walks through the neighbourhood are revealing the coming storm.  And by ‘coming storm’, I mean the potential for a repeat of last year’s caterpillar/moth infestation.  I for one am ready to make war against these things!  I’m one of the unlucky ones who found out last year that I’m allergic to their prickly little hairs which they get you with as you unsuspectingly have them drop onto you when you walk under a tree!  Are they ready to wreak havoc on us again?  Those white sacks on the trees say, they’re going to try.

Oh, and we’ve tried everything to stop this… to varying degrees of success.  From a Barrie360 article, some thoughts on ways to accomplish this and what the county may or may not do to help.

2022 SPONGY CATERPILLAR FORECAST 

At the end of summer, spongy moths will lay egg masses. Over winter, the County of Simcoe surveys the masses to forecast each year’s expected population. In 2020 the County surveyed 37 forests. In 2021, they expanded their sample to 84 forests across Simcoe. They collected the following results: 

• 11% of plots could have severe defoliation
• 35% of plots could have moderate 
• 54% of plots could have light to no defoliation 

WHAT IS BARRIE DOING ABOUT THE SPONGY MOTHS

Barrie has implemented an integrated management approach for dealing with the spongy moths. Under the LDD Moth Management Approach staff will apply one of four measures:  

• Let nature take care of it and wait for the caterpillars to die off naturally,
• Remove egg masses off trees,
• Use tape banding to prevent caterpillars from reaching the canopy.
• Inject TreeAzin, an insecticide that stops caterpillars from growing. The County saves insecticide for high risk trees.

Barrie’s 2022 budget also included funding for aerial spray in city woodlots. This will help reduce the impact of spongy moth caterpillars on city trees.

HOW YOU CAN HELP GET RID OF SPONGY MOTH CATERPILLARS 

1. REMOVE EGG MASSES (AUGUST TO APRIL)

2. TAPE THE TREES (APRIL TO MAY)

3. INSTALL BURLAP SKIRTS (MAY TO JUNE)

This is how it works: 

• Wrap burlap around the tree.
• Tie a rope around the centre of the burlap. 
• Drape the burlap over the rope so caterpillars will crawl under the overhang to seek shelter. 
• Check the overhang every afternoon and collect caterpillars. Use gloves as their tiny hairs can cause a rash.
• Put caterpillars in a bucket of soapy water for a few days to destroy them. 

Now, if you are going to tape the trees, try to not leave it taped year round, as it may harm the very tree you’re trying to save.  The one thing you can/should do, is, if you notice the tell-tale egg sacks on your tree, with gloves on and a better knife, simply scrape the sacks off the tree into a bucket of soapy water and leave them there for a couple of days.  It’s not a perfect or absolute solution, but every little bit helps.

Aside from that, it’s a waiting game.  Again, we can hope that Mother Nature will lend a hand with the arrival of the Nucleopolyhedrosis virus, which will lead to their demise.  Or, as we did have some particularly cold weather over the past winter, that may help.  Short of that, you’ll be inside for the summer, shoving you cat out of the way so you can lay in the sunlight beaming through the front window!  Good luck!