Gypsy moths

[jmagerl]

While our county has been under quarantine for the last few years, this is the first year I have actually found egg masses on my trees. What can I expect in the future? Will my trees die? I live in a heavily wooded area with some of the oaks several centuries old.

I read that kerosene sprayed on an egg mass will kill it, is this advisable? What about wd40 or liquid wrench (I don't have kerosene). Most of the egg masses I can scrape off but some are 10ft up. (I have a 8ft reach so the last 2 feet can be covered by spray can). I notice for those masses on my garage that Gumout dissolves them nicely but does it kill them?

The county only sprays the leading edge of the invasion assuming everything else is a lost cause. We were last sprayed 2 years ago. To make things worse, they found the emerald Ash Borer 2 counties over, so I guess their next.

[symplastless]

Good question. It depends what type of predisposition your trees are in. A tree with high vitality may well survive while the symplast of a tree that is predisposed and has low energy reserves may well die, i.e., the symplast.

I live in a heavily wooded area

It depends on things like course woody debris. If you have many nurse logs in your woods then the chances of your trees getting water during dry time is increased. This availability of water during dry times could be the limiting factor determining whether the symplast of your trees will survive or not.

An article on predisposition:

The best thing would have been good managing practices over the years regarding the ecological stages of trees. Woods with trees where wood has been removed on a constant basis is most likely in a predisposition. Humans underestimate the value of the different ecological stages of trees.

Does not seem to be addressing the requirements of trees regarding the different ecological stages. The focus is only on secondary organisms.

The biggest problems for trees worldwide is decisions made out of the ignorance of tree biology. Look at Texas where years of flush cutting and applying wound dressing has caused an increase of oak wilt? Now you ask and focus on what to do about oak wilt. The answer is stop flush cutting and using wound dressing.

Sincerely, John A. Keslick, Jr. Arborist

Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology. Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us that we are not the boss.

[symplastless]

Mention of gypsy moth

John A. Keslick, Jr. Arborist Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology. Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us that we are not the boss.

[Jim Kingdon]

It will vary from year to year.

If they are otherwise stressed or the gypsy moths are really bad, they can. But in general, they will probably recover from it even if defoliated.

Not familiar with that remedy but I would think that if you have the time to seek out individual egg masses you could remove them by hand (or stick, or ladder, or....). That's what I did on my (young, about

2 meter tall) Apple tree this spring. Some of its leaves got munched but nowhere near a complete defoliation (mostly not due to my efforts, mostly just due to not having as many caterpillars as in, say, the park down the street. This was said to be a bad year).

Here in PG County, Maryland, they have been on the hunt for those. They're hoping they can nip it in the bud (by cutting down ash trees near the infected ones, and such measures):