An abundance of fall webworms

Hello I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. I have never seen so many fall webworms as this year, and Clemson’s Home and Garden Information Center agrees that there are more webs than almost ever before. They attribute it the hot (and boy, it has been hot!) and dry conditions we’re suffering through this summer. It used to be I’d see a few in pecan trees, and pecans trees are among their favorites, but they don’t seem at all picky this summer. These caterpillars expand their web as they eat and feed within it for protection. The trees did plenty of photosynthesizing earlier in the spring and summer, and the very relatively few leaves eaten by these spiny caterpillars aren’t going to harm the tree. If you want, break open the web for some birds and beneficial insects to eat them.