Web Worms Everywhere!

You may be noticing an increase in the number of webby nests in the branches of trees.

These large, brown nests are the home to webworms. The worm is the larvae from a tiger moth and will invade the trees each fall. Extension Educator for Muskingum County Mark Mechling said there seems to be an increase in the number of webworms this year. He is not sure the reason for the increase but said the worm will go through a cycle where some years are more heavily populated than others.

"They really don’t kill the tree," said Mechling. "We tell people typically don’t get too concerned about it, it does look bad, particular if it might be an ornamental tree out in your front yard but typically we encourage people to not take any extreme measures."

Although they usually aren’t harmful to the trees they do kill most of the foliage. Mechling suggests removing the web by using a stick. Unlike a spider web, the worm will not rebuild it’s nest.

"If you do remove the webbing, often times the birds or other insects will feed upon them so that’s one way to get rid of them is to eliminate, essentially the webbing is a protection for them," said Mechling. "So if you eliminate the webbing then other predators can get to them and eliminate them."

In any given web there can be hundreds of worms. Some can become large enough to encompass the entire tree. The worm is mainly attracted to walnut , hickory, Burch and cherry trees. For larger webs Mechling suggests using a labeled insecticide available at most stores.