Bagworm

Bagworms are one of the easiest insects to detect, but can also do great damage before they are noticed.  They arrive usually in June as the eggs hatch and begin their feeding frenzy.  It is at this stage that they are most easily controlled.  They love the arborvitae family of plants, but can feed on anything with a luscious leaf on it.  Plants such as maple, boxelder, willow, black locust, poplar, oak, apple, cherry, juniper and persimmon can all become victims of the bagworm.

The baby worms when after they hatch in about June, will build their ‘bag’ around themselves as they are getting their first feeding.  Their ‘bag’ grows with them as they eat themselves into adulthood.  This is usually a couple of weeks later that the ‘bag’ releases an adult worm.  The adult worms don’t usually last very long.  The male will fly away from his bag to mate with the female.  He will die shortly after mating.  The female usually stays with her bag and uses it to lay her 500-1000 eggs.  She will die about 5 days later.  If mating is done early enough in the season, this cycle will happen a second time in the same year, but typically, these eggs will stay in the cocoon until next June.

The best treatment for the bagworms is using an insect spray that includes permethrin.  You will want to apply weekly or at least every two weeks when you have a good infestation.  There is only one organic chemical treatment that can be used very early in the larvae cycle.  Bacillus thuringensis (Bt) can be used right at the egg hatching time to help control.  Otherwise hand pulling or power washing off the ‘bags’ off the plant is the only organic control for bagworms.

Catching them early, being persistent with the control, and loving on your plants is very important to control bagworms.

Happy Control