Battling Webworms

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Back in the day, we took a long bamboo pole with us to the Christmas tree farm be sure a tree would reach our tall ceilings. If I were worried about the fall webworms in my pecan trees, perhaps I could use that pole to break up some of the lower nests. But the leaves on pecans, sourwood, maple and other host trees are nearing the end of their photosynthetic life and the insects are doing little harm.   If you have a small tree you’re babying along, you can use a stick to remove the webs. You must destroy the caterpillars, though, or they’ll   just walk back up the tree. Place the web in soapy water to drown the insects. Another biological control method recommend by a smart-aleck Extension Agent is the ten-year old dancing boy solution – especially one with a large shoe size.