Dealing with this year's webworm infestation

Oh, what an ugly web they weave. Webworms have taken up residence in area trees once again. <br><br>News on 6 business reporter Steve Berg says the experts say there's nothing webworms like more

Tuesday, July 8th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Oh, what an ugly web they weave. Webworms have taken up residence in area trees once again.

News on 6 business reporter Steve Berg says the experts say there's nothing webworms like more than a string of hot, muggy days. We can't change the weather. But there are ways to get rid of these varmints.

They're back, and they're chowing down on your trees leaves. Now how do you get "them" to leave? OSU Master Gardener Brian Jervis says there's a wide range of products at your local garden supply store. But you've got to get inside the web. â€œYou gotta get a chemical inside this webbing, to penetrate this web, to get on the worm and kill it. That's the key to get inside that webbing.â€

One of the most effective ways is also maybe one of the most obvious; you just cut off the branch, and toss the worms in the trash. "And that's actually what we did with this tree, we've got the Redbud around the side of the building and we just took this limb off."

But if you don't feel like going out on a limb, you can just leave the tree be. Because even with a lot of webworms, the tree will survive. "It's an aesthetic thing. It's ugly to look at more or less, it doesn't look good, but again it won't hurt the tree much."

Whatever you decide to do, you'll have to make up your mind fast. This is just the first generation. In two or three weeks, each and every one of these worms will lay about 500 eggs apiece. "If you take care of this first generation, it's going to be a lot less of a problem later."