Gypsy Moths

Have Gypsy Moths Killed Your Trees?

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Have you ever stood underneath a tree and heard the sound of Gypsy Moths eating the tree leaves? It is such an eerie sound! Last year as I stood under a tree I thought “what is that noise”? It was the Gypsy Moths munching away on our tree leaves. It really was creepy!

The Gypsy Moth often targets hardwood trees. On our property they preferred the taste of our maple tree leaves. In 2020 we did not do anything to attempt to control or prevent the Gypsy Moths from damaging our trees. We did not realize they were such a big problem until it was too late.

Gypsy Moths

During the spring of 2021 it felt like the Gypsy Moths were everywhere at one point. They were climbing on all different types of objects in our yard, like patio furniture and even on our barbecue.

Another common problem reported was the rash these little creatures left on human skin when their tiny hairs came in contact with people. The rash appeared similar to poison ivy and was extremely itchy! I know from first hand experience and it was not pleasant!

We decided we needed to take a proactive approach to help prevent the same problem from reoccurring and killing our maple trees.

CLICK on the video below to see what we did!

The above method worked extremely well for us to help catch some of those tiny Gypsy Moths that were venturing up our maple trees.

After the tape was in place for several months, it was time to see what was hiding behind it. In August 2021, the tape had been in place on the trees since the spring. The next step was to remove the tape from the trees. The other problem was to remove the remaining Gypsy Moths and Gypsy Moth egg masses that were on the trees.

Check out the video below to see exactly how we completed this next step.

We can only hope that this year fewer of these little pests will be in our area. According to the Ontario Government website, an outbreak can occur approximately every 7 to 10 years. Let’s hope the worst is behind us and this summer we will be able to enjoy fewer Gypsy Moths.

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