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Hose best way to rid trees of caterpillars, says city

May 25, 2016 | 6:00 AM

They’re nasty-looking, especially bunched up together. But the city of North Battleford says an outbreak of tent caterpillars is not particularly harmful.

“I know we’ve had lots of rain the last few days. But with the drought cycle we usually see more and more pests. And we haven’t had an outbreak of tent caterpillar for quite a few years,” Tim Yeaman, operations foreman for the city’s forestry department, said. “So this is one of the years that we’re kind of expecting a few more of the tent caterpillars. They’re always around, but not in the numbers that we’ve seen them this year.”

Yeaman said the fuzzy green caterpillars are generally a cosmetic problem. The pests eat the leaves from deciduous trees, green ash in particular, for five to six weeks. Once full, they lower themselves to the ground and cocoon.

The leaves will grow back during the summer months. However Yeaman warned trees with health problems might not recover.

“If we see a tree defoliated three years in a row that’s when we’re going to see some die-back and possibly lose the tree itself. So that’s what we’re monitoring right now and trying to avoid,” he said.

He added people who want to rid their trees of tent caterpillars can do so with a high pressure hose or even a garden hose. The bugs can be found on the west, or warm, side of a tree, or the east side during the evening, and will clump together to stay warm when it cools off. The city does not typically provide other control measures, except when a tree’s health is in jeopardy. A news release directs residents to contact City Hall or a home and garden centre if they’re still concerned.

Yeaman said the city has found the caterpillars in trees at the Credit Union CUplex, Centennial Park, and Kinsmen Park.

 

gsmith@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @smithco