Posted on 06/25/2025 8:05:04 AM PDT by Red Badger
Ahh, summertime: A season for kicking back, relaxing, grilling and barbecuing.
And also a time for these horrific monsters:
Credit: Joe Boggs via WCMH
But what ARE these horrific lumps?! From one local report in Ohio:
Caterpillars that are camouflage experts and known to cause damage to a variety of plants are now hatching in Ohio.
Joe Boggs, an assistant professor with Ohio State University Extension, is warning residents to be on the lookout for bagworms, which are the caterpillars of bagworm moths. The insects create a bag around themselves using silk and pieces of their host plant, which camouflages them from predators. They often resemble small pine cones.
Yes, "small pine cones." Or pieces of tree bark:
Fir0002/Wikimedia Commons
Or jagged chunks of sap and pine needles:
Credit: Joe Boggs via WCMH
Or elegant arrangements of handsome twigs:
Shutterstock
Or, um, whatever this is:
Shutterstock
Regrettably, this bug has quite a large spread:
USA National Phenology Network
Thankfully, it's okay to kill these pests — and you have some options here:
Boggs said an easy way to get rid of bagworms is to pluck them off their hosts and step on them.
Boggs also said insecticides are another option, but some sprays may also kill arthropods that help keep bagworms and other pests at bay. ...
The best long-term solution for keeping the pests away is to plant a variety of flowering plants, which attract insects such as certain wasps that are predators of bagworms, according to Boggs.
So suit up y'all — it's bagworm season!
Bagworm Ping!................
Drop them in a coffee can, add a little diesel fuel, and light-off. Snap! Crackle! Pop!
Q: How do you keep caterpillars out of your bush?
A: Put tinfoil around your ankles.
When I drive from Boston to NYC I enter Connecticut on I-84. As soon as you enter the state there’s a big sign that says that bringing firewood into the state is forbidden because of some bug. Can’t recall the name of the bug.
I haven’t seen those yet, but I remember when I was younger we used to find tent caterpillars in our trees. If the infestation was really large we would have to cut those branches down and burn them.
If you see the bagworms, kill them. If you see John Rambo, you’re dealing with an expert in guerrilla warfare.
“Drop them in a coffee can, add a little diesel fuel, and light-off. Snap! Crackle! Pop!”
Diesel is hard to light off with just a match. It has to be heated up before it will light off.
I’d let wasps grab them by ripping open the bag and leaving them on the pavement. Wasps LOVE them.
We have a problem with southern pine bark beetles. They can kill a pine tree in quick order and spread. Whenever they are found the forest service will destroy the tree and every tree within a certain radius to be sure they got them and their eggs.......
We had a hickory tree that was covered in them.
Tree is now gone...............
Set all your pine trees on fire so they have no place to hide.
That’s what the Forest Service does!............
In Florida we get the webworms that love pecan trees. We try to get to them and burn their webs if we can reach them.
They also like Hickory trees. We had one that would get covered in webs every spring. We eventually had to cut it down because it was too close to the house..........
How are they not reported in Michigan? Are they Just not reported?
Do they just hate Michigan?
Having driven from Miami to Naples many times on Route 41...through the Everglades...no creature that can be found in Florida surprises me. I love driving that route and last year I decided to visit Everglades National Park. When entering I found that veterans get into national parks for free and thankfully my license says “Veteran” on it.
It’s odd how they avoid some states completely. Can they read maps, or do they rely on GPS?
ICWYDT
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