Tree Care Tips: How to Get Rid of Spider Webs in Your Trees
Trees are meant to create a serene and appealing outdoor space while providing shade from the scorching sun during the hot summer months. However, when large and silky webs begin to form in your trees, they become less attractive and more creepy and scary. You may be wondering what type of spiders makes their webs on trees. Learn what these webs and spiders are, their effects on trees, and the measures that you can take to get rid of them and restore the appeal of your trees.
What are the webs on your trees?
Contrary to popular belief, the webs that are found on trees are not made by spiders. There is a type of worm known as a webworm which feeds on and lives on trees. The webworm is usually responsible for making webs in trees, but since its webs resemble those of a spider, many people draw the conclusion that there are spiders on their trees. Webworms usually feed on a variety of tree species, but they have a preference for fruit trees. If the trees in your backyard are fruit trees, there is a high chance that this is why it attracts the webworms.
What's the effect of webworms on your trees?
Webworms are simply caterpillars which build their webs on trees; therefore, they do not have an effect on trees. However, this only applies to grown and established trees. If your trees are young, their growth can get affected by the webworms. The worms can cause complete leaf loss before the young trees get a chance to thrive, and this may result in stunted growth. In severe cases, the trees can end up dying if you don't take any measures to get rid of these worms.
How can you get rid of webworms and their webs?
Webs on your trees can throw off the appeal of your entire outdoor space. You can get rid of them by just removing them using a long broom. However, this offers a temporary solution to the problem. Since the webworms live on the trees, they also lay their eggs there. During the winter, the eggs live in the cocoons; therefore, removing the webs will not get rid of the eggs. Once they hatch, the cycle of building webs will continue.
You can permanently get rid of webworms by applying a quality insecticide on your tree barks and branches. You can also prune the tree branches that have been affected by the webs. If these methods do not work, you should contact a tree services to inspect the tree and recommend another form of treatment.
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