Gypsy Moths

This is happening in West Chazy New York.

Gypsy moths damaging trees around area

 

Yep, our red oaks look like they do in early spring right now. Oaks have no leaves left, but at least they left the ash and maples alone...for now....

 

There's a virus and a fungus that (sometimes) kills them. The virus affects them when their populations are high. The fungus can get them in hot humid rainy weather. Usually not enough of them though. If their population is so high they're eating pine needles, with a little luck, both of those diseases will do them in. Hopefully this year. You'll find many more dead ones on the sides of trees than usual. Sometimes littering the ground.

 

Good info here
Lymantria dispar (Gypsy Moth)
Our homestead borders Fowlers Hollow State Park. When the gypsy moth came thru in the 70's and early 80's the state sprayed the park valley from ridge to ridge and we were lucky to be on the end of the ridge. Saved most of our red oak.
Pa still has an active spraying program on state forest to control gypsy moth.

 

No real damage here from them this year. Not so in past years.

 

I got one big ash left with about 30 percent of leaves on it.
And a few 5' tall ones that had sprouted from seeds.

 

Canadian border VT , any of this in your territory? I mentioned to my forester that I had heard something on VPR about an outbreak, but he hadn’t heard of it locally.

He did look at a Sugar Maple for me, and thinks it is Pear Thrips.

 

I see Burlington is having a big problem with them.
Infestation: Gypsy moth caterpillars munch their way across our region

 

They are all over the place here!

 

I would like that but our town went through it in 2006 and it was bad. Our town sprayed the following year because they were late the year it happened, it's just a matter of time before we get hit again.

 

Every yellow birch I cut down is loaded and get the torch treatment

 

It's like a plague here, right now. The worst I've seen it in 15 years at my place. It sounds like it's lightly raining in the woods every night for the past month, from all the frass dropping. Fresh turned soil looks like this after a day, the black dots being the droppings. They seem to be in the hickory trees a little bit as well now. You can't be outside at night without being peppered with the stuff.



Looks like this under the oaks. Enough leaves down that I got out the leaf blower to clear off the driveway last week.



This was a healthy, fully leafed out oak (black oak, I think) about a month ago.

 

This is in Jefferson County down where Watertown NY is located.
North country dealing with gypsy moth invasion

 

Had them last year. They seemed to hit the black cherry and black walnut trees. Haven't seen any of those damm things yet this season and hopefully wont.

 

With all the rains you've had lately, the bacteria that kills the caterpillars will propagate. Hopefully, the rains will continue a bit longer. Next year may not be as s bad as you think.

 

How much rain have you received so far?