How to Get Rid of Bagworms

Have you ever seen a Leyland Cypress or Emerald Green Arborvitae with large spots of browning? Chances are these trees are infested with bagworms. If left untreated, bagworms can devour an entire tree within a month. In addition to completely killing a tree, the bagworms can quickly spread to other trees! Read on to get the dirt on how to get rid of bagworms!

All About Bagworms

Bagworms create a bag-like cocoon from silk and the evergreen leaf. In the fall, bagworms begin life as eggs, as most insects do. The eggs are located in the bag, and each bag can contain about 1,000 eggs. Bagworms will overwinter on the tree and emerge in the spring. They begin crawling on your tree and eventually attach themselves to the tree. Over time, they create the cocoon, and they start to eat! Around September, the bagworm stops eating and focuses on reproduction. The males emerge from their cocoons as moths and fertilize the females. The females lay their eggs inside the bag and then die. The cycle continues and so will the damage to your trees!

If You Already Have Them

If you have noticed bagworms on your trees, then it is time to roll up your sleeves, grab a bucket, and get to work. While this will be a time-consuming task, plucking the bagworms from the tree is the most surefire way to make sure these little pests don’t continue indulging! Once you have removed all the bagworms from your trees, be sure to kill them. The best way to do this is to burn them, step on them, place them in water, or put them in a sealed plastic bag.

Bagworm Prevention

Prevention is the key when it comes to bagworms! The best way to ensure that bagworms will not infest your trees is to spray permethrin on the bagworms in May. This treatment will kill the caterpillars and disrupt their reproduction cycle.

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