possible caterpillar repellent

20 years ago

I've been reading a lot of messages from people having caterpillar problems. It brought to mind something that happened in my gardens in Massachusetts in 1981. We had a gypsy moth blight in the Northeast that year.

At first I saw these tiny green caterpillars just floating in the breeze and didn't pay much attention to them. Then after a week or so they were everywhere... As the caterpillars grew, they began to invade my yard, I sprayed daily, or hosed them off our trees and shrubs and plants, vegetable garden, house and car! I tried everything imaginable to rid my yard of the millions of gypsy moths. It seemed like we were in a science fiction movie. There were so many of them that you could hear them eating at night and in the morning the dead ones would have to be shoveled from the bottom of the trees because they smelled terrible if you left a pile of dead ones around. They left a green slime all over our freshly painted house. When you drove down the road you'd drive over thousands of them and hear that horrible squishing sound. Everyone would have to remove their shoes before coming into the house because the disgusting green gook was all over them. They even ate evergreen needles, which was something that no one had ever heard of before. Many trees and plant life were destroyed. It was a horrible experience that lasted for a couple of months. At times it seemed as though it would never end.

When it finally ended I noticed one untouched part of my yard, which was my herb garden and in particular my large patches of creeping thyme and the shrubs and trees near it. I had a stepping stone path with creeping thyme planted between the stones in a large area. Apparently the creeping thyme and anything growing near it had been protected from the gypsy moths. So y'all may want to consider planting creeping thyme as a possible caterpillar repellent around anything that caterpillars might eat. I believe it works.

Lets all hope that we aren't in for a gypsy moth blight here. I don't think I can handle that again!

Iveyrose

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Comments (3)

rockman50
20 years ago
Gypsy moth catapillars go through a population explosion every ten years or so. We had the huge gypsy moth explosion back in the early 1980's, then again in the early 1990's, and we have been experiencing the same thing again this year. A gypsy moth infestation usually lasts for about 2-3 years before a naturally occuring fungus in soil kills them off during a wet spring. We just had the wettest May-June period in history here in Massachusetts, which was a good thing. The fungus has killed most of the gypsy moth catapillars, so they should not be as big a problem next spring. I known the gypsy moth has been spreading over much of the eastern 1/3 of the country, but not sure if they have made it as far south as Georgia yet. But, we have also been dealing with a new pest called the "Asian Winter Moth"-which is an introduced species like the gypsy moth of course. The catapillar stage of this moth (a little green inchworm) can completely defoliate emerging leaves in early-mid spring. The only known predator is a parasitic fly. The state of Massachusetts has been breeding and releasing the fly into infested areas for the past few years, but it will take a few years for the fly population to knock down the inchworm population. Areas in the Pacific NW had a similar problem with the same pest and the parasitic fly really helped reduce the catapillar population in those areas. Hopefully, it will do the same here. As far as managmement goes, you can spray Bt on your trees when the catapillars are small. That knocks them out. Or just wait for nature to take care of them, which is a lot cheaper. But if you are in a neighborhood with a severe infestation, it can be unpleasant!
IveyRose
Original Author
20 years ago
rockman50
Yes! very unpleasant. Something I'll never forget. I didn't know that you had an infestation in the 1990's because I haven't lived in New England for nearly 20 years. I'm glad to hear that the heavy rains you had this year have helped alleviate your gypsy moth problem. Good luck with the Asian Winter Moth. It sounds very much like the other. (Get your shovel and wheelbarrow ready just in case!)
Iveyrose
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rockman50
20 years ago
Thankfully, in my part of the state we have not had many catapillars at all. That is what is so amazing about the infestations. When they occur, you never know which area will be hardest hit. And it is very spotty. One neighborhood will have tons and another will have very few. Luck of the draw I guess.