Small worms - Ask Extension
A couple of trees and areas of our yard are inundated with small worms, thousands of them. Not sure where they came from or what to do.
Knowledgebase
Small worms #869791
Asked May 23, 2024, 1:26 PM EDT
A couple of trees and areas of our yard are inundated with small worms, thousands of them. Not sure where they came from or what to do.
Josephine County Oregon
Expert Response
Are they white or green caterpillars hanging by silk threads from the trees? Most likely they are the larvae (caterpillars) of either oak leafrollers or oak leaftiers, two different species of moth. Leafrollers are from the genus Archips and leaftiers are from the genus Croesia.
Thank you for the info. I'm not sure which one we have because they are still in the caterpillar stage. What is strange is that there were thousands of them and most of them were climbing up a pine tree that was dieing this spring, some of them had gone over to a maple tree. I've occasionally seen these type of caterpillars but never so many.
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On May 24, 2024, at 8:56 PM, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
As you know, most insects have population cycles.
This may be the year for your infestation.
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a group of soil microbes that are used to control certain insect pests and a common treatment for caterpillars.
https://agbiotech.oregonstate.edu/video/bacillus-thuringiensis-bt
This may be the year for your infestation.
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a group of soil microbes that are used to control certain insect pests and a common treatment for caterpillars.
https://agbiotech.oregonstate.edu/video/bacillus-thuringiensis-bt
Thank you!!
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On May 26, 2024, at 8:58 PM, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:
Thank you for contacting us.
