Tent caterpillars have crawled their way back to the Lakeland, but they won’t be around for long.
It’s once again that time of year, where tent caterpillars fill the trees, climb walls, and cover decks across the region.
But, there’s nothing to fear when it comes to these creepy crawlers, said Janice Boden, assistant ag fieldman for the MD of Bonnyville.
So far this season, Boden has had reports of tent caterpillars in the Town of Bonnyville, around Moose Lake, south of Muriel Lake, and the Cold Lake area.
“This is our fifth year, and their cycles are generally three to six years and then they will be gone for 10 years before coming back,” she explained.
Regardless of their creepy nature, tent caterpillars are pretty harmless.
“People don’t like them because they crawl up their house or are on their deck. You can just take a hose and wash them off,” suggested Boden.
Tent caterpillars will defoliate their inhabited tree, however if a tree is healthy, they shouldn’t kill it.
Boden explained, “Nobody wants to see their tree defoliated. Healthy trees will survive it. They will get their leaves back that year.”
It’s unhealthy trees that residents need to worry about.
According to Boden, tent caterpillars are “Mother Nature’s way of letting the new growth grow.”
For residents who prefer to have their properties clear of the caterpillars, Boden said there are a number of options when it comes to prevention.
“Some of the things we recommend, is the local greenhouse and hardware stores have brought in BTK for caterpillars, which is not an insecticide. It’s safe for pets and kids. It’s a biological control.”
They also suggest using tangle foot, which is a sticky substance placed around the base of a tree. When the caterpillars try to climb up it, they get stuck.
A new suggestion was placing a bail of water at the bottom of a infested tree. When the caterpillars come down to get a drink, they can’t escape.
“In the mornings, or when it’s clouded or rainy, they go into big clusters. If you want to save your tree from defoliation, I do this in town, I put a glove on, pick them all up, put them in a baggy, zip it closed, and put them in the trash,” Boden noted.
Keeping trees healthy will also help them survive if they do become infested with the bug.
Boden suggested fertilizing and water them before winter.
She also asks residents to steer clear of home remedies, which can cause damage to vegetation, or kill of the helpful bugs that pollinate.
“Don’t use home remedies, because it will kill them all,” she said. “We want to make sure that we aren’t killing the good guys who pollinate our garden.”
When it comes to tent caterpillars, Boden said they’re more of a nuisance than harmful.
“Caterpillars aren’t bad bugs,” she said. “They don’t hurt anything.”
