How to get rid of Gypsy Moths and Caterpillars

Welcome to my channel, Homes for Beginners where I show you how to do repairs around the house yourself. Please don't forget to hit that LIKE button and SUBSCRIBE for future videos.
In this video I will be sharing tips and tricks on how to deal with gypsy moth and caterpillar infestations. Gypsy moth and caterpillars are an extremely invasive pest, they can completely defoliate trees in a couple of weeks. We ran into this problem last year where it attacks out oak and pine trees. They can severely damage the trees, if the problem persists from year to year or if you have an unhealthy tree already, it can kill the tree. You can see in some of this footage, the caterpillars have eating holes in the leaves, portions of the needles, and the ground is even layered with portions of needles that were bitten partway off.
Starting with the tip is removing any nest of eggs. This can be removed from the tree by hand or depending on where you’re located, you are maybe able to purchase a spray. These nests can be an orangish, tan, or brown color and will be a fuzzy clump that can be found on any surface. This can be on a house wall, inside a shed, on the bark of the tree, etc. These can be disposed of in the first pot so there’s no risk of them spread to other locations. I would recommend wearing gloves. A toothbrush is a great way of cleaning the eggs of any surface, brush them into your hand, dump them into a pale and dispose of them accordingly.
Once they have hatched and are in their larvae form, this is where they’ll eat any leaves or needles from a tree. This can happen in a matter of weeks depending on the severity, we could hear them eating at night, and the ground was covered in their droppings. They do eventually fall out of the trees, to prevent them from crawling back up the trunk, very sticky tape can be used. Some people also use a cloth that is folded in such a way to trap them, however I do prefer the tape method. You’ll want a strong sticky tape, wrap it around the trunk of the tree, anywhere from 3 to 6 feet up, sticky side out and about 4 inches in width. Wrap it in an area where they cannot crawl underneath the tape. This does need to replaced every couple of weeks, be sure to check its stickiness and the number of caterpillars on the tape. They’ll get stuck in place and eventually die.
Another option is picking them off the trees. This will depend on the size of your trees, we have quite a few newly planted pine trees where they’re under 10ft. You can pick them off by hand, but be aware that some people do have allergic reactions to their hairs, so gloves would certainly be recommended or you can use a vacuum with various extensions to gain a little height on a large tree. Empty the container when need, don’t leave them in there overnight, once they die, they will produce an unpleasant odor.
As mentioned earlier, sprays can be used even in their larvae stage. Sprays can vary depending on your local regulations and laws. We’re in Ontario Canada so we have high restrictions on pesticides, therefore environmentally friendly options are only available to use such as BTK. BTK is a biological insecticide and can be purchased in a concentrated formula, then applying to a tree. Some companies offer spraying as well. Here I have a lawn sprayer, the concentrated BTK is dumped inside, as the water goes through the sprayer, it sucks up the BTK and applies it to the tree.
Once past the larvae stage and into the moth stage, their cocoons can be hand-picked as well. Or you can make a trap for them using a pheromone, I do have a video specifically for this on how to make one. There are female and male versions of the moth, males fly and the females do not. The males fly around looking for a female to breed with, however this trap uses a female pheromone to lure them. The trap is made in such a way where the male becomes trapped inside, they’ll eventually fall in the water and die.
© Homes for Beginners 2019
All Rights Reserved
No part of this video or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied, modified or adapted, without the prior written consent of the author.

[@adrocka]

I was surprised at how well the tape method worked. Great vid!

[@homesforbeginners]

Thank you so much!

[@homesforbeginners]

That is why the tape needs to be replaced every so often.

[@playsanuzoo]

We don't have this issue here but I wanted to learn more. Good video and informative.

[@homesforbeginners]

Thank you, I appreciate the kind words and feedback!

[@loomonda18]

Thanks for this! Also found that wrapping burlap cloth around the tree traps them, while also allowing the caterpillars from the top to come down - but the tape method is also great! Maybe consider double methods

[@homesforbeginners]

No problem and thank you for sharing your tip as well!

[@gigatron2008]

Thanks for the tips. I stocked up on BTK looks like they are back this year I see them in tiny caterpillar stage on my house siding and air conditioning unit :(

[@t.j.9933]

Thanks for sharing all these tips. I've been trying a few methods (Peterborough area). Mixing soap+water into a spray bottle and spraying the caterpillars seems to stun and kill them. It's a lengthy process but worth it, especially with the damage and poop they produce.

[@homesforbeginners]

No problem and thank you for sharing your tip too.

[@darlenegaudet777]

Thanks for this

[@homesforbeginners]

My pleasure!

[@skippythetownie3123]

I tried the toothbrush method to remove the eggs but now my gums are itchy.....

[@tylerhamel919]

Ridiculous, Everyone knows to rinse the tooth brush off before you use it again...

[@Ellis1127]

😂😂😂😂

[@mike_miller]

Where to buy those pheromones?

[@swiftymcfly]

I shot a bunch off with a pressure wash end on my hose. I shot off all of the egg pouches that I could see. I suppose the disadvantage is they could still hatch on the ground. Some of the eggs are 20ft high so accessing them with a toothbrush isn't realistic. I will also try the tape. Any that I found I threw inside a large Tupperware with a bit of dish soap to break the surface tension.

[@madurai1456]

My first experience with these caterpillars, everywhere is sold out of BTK/lure for the male. I am using dish soap with vegetable oil and water that will kill them and am also using cling wrap for the base of the trees and it works-they won't climb up then just spray them all

[@homesforbeginners]

Excellent tips, thank you for sharing!

[@mastermavrick1818]

My neighborhood has a huge infestation at the moment and we've been using plastic wrap covered in Vaseline. It's working pretty well, and it doesn't catch the other bugs which is a plus.

[@homesforbeginners]

Great tip, thank you for sharing!

[@gfutube1]

Saw fly rose grub. The leaves come back. I’m going to try pyrethrin spray next year.

[@msdramamusic]

Can I so the same for grasshoppers?

[@immortal9593]

Kawartha pine ridge infestation I am do all of the above and shop vacuuming them off trees and its not enough overwhelming

[@Neyobe]

My line and oak are completely bare. They look like skeletons and my oak tree only has the leaf vines left, no more full foliage

[@nickhammersonrocks]

WILL THE SAME THING WORK FOR MOTHER IN-LAWS AND BACK HAIR!!!!???

[@tiffany30247]

Since the lure you mentioned is out of stock, wonder any scent will attract the gypsy moth so I can do the bottle trap like yours? Thank you in advance

[@homesforbeginners]

I believe you can buy pre-made traps which have the lure pheromone imbedded inside the box instead. That is the only other option unfortunately.

[@tiffany30247]

@@homesforbeginners thanks for the information

[@paulywalliepm]

Imagine having hundreds of trees...

[@DomMCoop]

I have 7 huge trees in my yard , the moths are everywhere ! Helppp

[@lightsight7754]

I just used regular duct tape wrapped 4 or 5 times around the trunks and spread a thin layer of automotive grease on it with a cheap paint brush. They won't cross it.

[@homesforbeginners]

Excellent tip, thank you for sharing!

[@johnparsons8271]

So they won't cross it. What do they do? Do they climb down and look for another tree?

[@lightsight7754]

@@johnparsons8271 they just stand there frustrated and confused in a huge writhing mass.

[@user-do9oo8le6h]

Spray with a mixture of part 1 Dawn dish soap to 4 parts water.

[@richardpyper7331]

what are the stips called to attact the moth? and where can they be bought in Ontario?

[@homesforbeginners]

They're a gypsy moth lure and I bought them from here www.urbannaturestore.ca/products/gypsy-moth-trap-replacement-lure?gclid=CjwKCAjwzMeFBhBwEiwAzwS8zPlU_g14vZagq4WUYS8ij9WZqna_h6j0pnf85v9fPCFGVDxKxx5WexoCYLkQAvD_BwE

[@maricelamclean2516]

@@homesforbeginners SOLD OUT any other suggestions?

[@novalees]

@@homesforbeginners Do they ship to the US? Can't order on their order form if you don't live in Canada.

[@wenb2110]

Thank you for the tips. I am going to try the tape. We found tons of caterpillars underneath the leaves and my tree is defoliating. Did you mean caterpillars usually fall onto the ground every night and crawl back up to the trees and hide underneath the leaves in the morning?

[@homesforbeginners]

No problem! They usually just fall off and go right back up. They don't typically hide, at least from what I've experienced.

[@chippychippy8291]

Cool, where about in Canada are you having an outbreak?

[@homesforbeginners]

We're in western Ontario. By the sounds of it, we had the early. Other parts of Ontario are now experiencing it sadly.

[@zennyfieldster4220]

@@homesforbeginners thank you very much for the information. eastern Ontario is insane now with these guys. Every oak I see at my place is stripped bare of its leaves. They’ve eaten nearly everything else too and the maples are still strong. If they go after those, my whole forest will be basically bare.

[@homesforbeginners]

No problem and thank you for the feedback! It's scary how much damage something so small can cause.

[@Grade10science]

@@zennyfieldster4220 I have literally been spraying our trees here in North Bay for hours a day. I've been using two spray bottles but just bought a backpack sprayer.

[@zennyfieldster4220]

@@Grade10science my family has wrapped nearly every tree in tape and just a couple of days ago we were out manually taken them off trees with our hands. I was wacking them off with a shovel and stomping on everyone I seen on the ground. My mother and I who are usually against killing things with the exception of mosquitoes and horse/deer flies were actually going gun ho on them. There’s literally too many of them and for the first time ever I honestly considered getting a flamethrower for such thing. Most likely would cause a forest fire but would cause a massive population crash and we wouldn’t have the infestation in years to come. 😂

[@taravicious9637]

Where do i get the pheromone??

[@homesforbeginners]

From here www.urbannaturestore.ca/products/gypsy-moth-trap-replacement-lure?gclid=CjwKCAjwzMeFBhBwEiwAzwS8zPlU_g14vZagq4WUYS8ij9WZqna_h6j0pnf85v9fPCFGVDxKxx5WexoCYLkQAvD_BwE

[@beamiller279]

My trees iare infested and I spray with water and Dawn dish soap. Spray and they die.

[@frankwice4864]

I have a question. Will excessive heat such as from a torch kill the egg clusters. I have been doing that around my property and I would like to know if I am doing any good

[@user-sd5ne9gf7b]

wouldn't that burn the plants along with them?

[@turntablizm12345]

This gave me an allergic reaction

[@veta2023]

What brand of very sticky tape you are talking about?

[@homesforbeginners]

I used gorilla tape, however I have heard of people saying the stickiness doesn't last as long as compared to some other brands. I also used duct tape, I found it to be equal. There is another product called tanglefoot, apparently it lasts for a long time, I haven't used it though.

[@lvanderb3]

@@homesforbeginners I used tanglefoot on duct tape, but did not catch a single caterpillar. I replaced it with burlap. I've been killing the caterpillars that I find in my apple trees. Thanks for the moth trap, I put those up today.

[@TeamTnA44]

@@homesforbeginners Tanglefoot tree wrap and spread tanglefoot goop over the tape . Experimenting as we speak . Duct tape isn't sticky enough . I've watched em crawl right over it. The goop seems to work though

[@qum3456]

OMG,,, these are simply not scalable solutions. What is the industrial pesticide solution?

[@TeamTnA44]

Telstar p

[@spades831]

These bastards are starting to invade my room.

[@iconjack]

𝗚𝘆𝗽𝘀𝘆 Moth?! How dare you!

[@Idgafboutnada]

I hate gypsy moths they get my tv fir cheap price

[@JB-zn1kx]

Guess what... the cancel culture just announced that GYPSY moth is offensive and can't be used when talking about the insect. Go figure.

[@anitastuever]

Okay, let's call the little bastards JB moths instead.

[@kathleenfox941]

The video is from 3 years ago before the name change. "Spongy moth" has been formally adopted as the new common name for the moth species Lymantria dispar (formerly known as the gypsy moth) by the Entomological Society of America. The new name comes from a translation of a French name based on the destructive forest pest's sponge-like egg masses. March 2, 2023, marks one year since a new common name for Lymantria dispar, spongy moth, replaced the prior name of this insect, This change was necessary because the word “gypsy” is an ethnic slur for the Romani people.