North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Doreen Howard" <doreenh@ticon.net>]

Del,
Can you spray your orchard with Bt kuristani?  It's very effective.  Tent
caterpillars are a huge problem in Texas where I gardened previously.  They
can strip a peach tree in a day or two.  In our area of Wisconsin, the DNR
is spraying with Bt from the air in order to save affected trees.  Bt in
powder form (also known as Dipel) is available at Lowe's and some Home
Depots.  You can find it on the Internet, too.  Apply it with Dawn dish soap
as a spreader.  You don't want to fool around with these creatures.  Also,
if you spot bags of them, knock down the bag and open it up with a stick or
whatever.  Then drench with Bt spray.  Good luck!
Doreen Howard

-----Original Message-----
From: del stubbs <pinewoodel@hotmail.com>
To: nafex@yahoogroups.com <nafex@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Thursday, May 31, 2001 5:07 PM
Subject: [nafex] tent catapillars


>Areas of Northern Minnesota are heavily infested now. Are they elsewhere?
>It's a cyclic event, some say 15 years. Healthy trees are defoliated, then
>releaf in July 'like nothing happened', I hear.
>In our local area we've just started seeing a handful here and there in the
>woods.  While mowing the fledgling apple orchard today i noticed a 3 year
>old sweet sixteen with chewed leaves, but no insects obvious. Then my wife
>spotted them on the chicken wire enclosure. Perhaps sunning themselves
after
>this mornings rain?   So we inspected all 200 trees, some are this years
>grafts-just showing first leaf. One got it bad, there being so little
growth
>to take the feeding.
>It suprised me to see so many apples with just one catapillar per plant, I
>thought they we're typically only in the great bunches.
>So it's inspections every day till they give up.
>Much discussion of them on the local radio, and so far the concensus is
Dawn
>detergent spray mix, or aluminum foil trunk wrap with grease.
>Mn. Del
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