Bulbs
Flower Basics
Flower Beds & Specialty Gardens
Flower Garden
Garden Furniture
Garden Gnomes
Garden Seeds
Garden Sheds
Garden Statues
Garden Tools & Supplies
Gardening Basics
Green & Organic
Groundcovers & Vines
Growing Annuals
Growing Basil
Growing Beans
Growing Berries
Growing Blueberries
Growing Cactus
Growing Corn
Growing Cotton
Growing Edibles
Growing Flowers
Growing Garlic
Growing Grapes
Growing Grass
Growing Herbs
Growing Jasmine
Growing Mint
Growing Mushrooms
Orchids
Growing Peanuts
Growing Perennials
Growing Plants
Growing Rosemary
Growing Roses
Growing Strawberries
Growing Sunflowers
Growing Thyme
Growing Tomatoes
Growing Tulips
Growing Vegetables
Herb Basics
Herb Garden
Indoor Growing
Landscaping Basics
Landscaping Patios
Landscaping Plants
Landscaping Shrubs
Landscaping Trees
Landscaping Walks & Pathways
Lawn Basics
Lawn Maintenance
Lawn Mowers
Lawn Ornaments
Lawn Planting
Lawn Tools
Outdoor Growing
Overall Landscape Planning
Pests, Weeds & Problems
Plant Basics
Rock Garden
Rose Garden
Shrubs
Soil
Specialty Gardens
Trees
Vegetable Garden
Yard Maintenance
How to Kill Caterpillar Nests
How to Kill Caterpillar Nests. A variety of different caterpillars spin silky, tent-like nests on trees. Depending on your location, local caterpillars may feed primarily on pine trees or flowering fruit trees. Nest-building caterpillars feed on tree leaves or needles early in the spring season, causing severe aesthetic damage. If defoliation...
A variety of different caterpillars spin silky, tent-like nests on trees. Depending on your location, local caterpillars may feed primarily on pine trees or flowering fruit trees. Nest-building caterpillars feed on tree leaves or needles early in the spring season, causing severe aesthetic damage. If defoliation persists over three years or more, the caterpillar damage can weaken the tree. Burning caterpillar nests, though a popular method of control, can damage tree limbs or start a fire. Though home gardeners cannot kill the nests per se, they can remove the nests with safe mechanical methods and exterminate any caterpillars inside.
Things You'll Need
Butter knife
Bucket
Liquid soap
Work gloves
Look for egg masses on tree twigs in fall, winter and early in spring.These masses look like brown or gray foam in a circle around a twig.
Scrape the eggs off with a butter knife into a bucket filled with soapy water.
Remove the silky, tent-like nests with your hands as soon as you notice them on trees.Wear work gloves, as certain types of caterpillars deliver a painful sting.
Drop the nest pieces and caterpillars into a bucket of soapy water to exterminate them.
Dispose of the dead caterpillars in the garbage or compost to prevent caterpillar odors in your home or yard.
