Caterpillar treatment?

[SmithNC]

Hi all! First-time poster here in need of help.

I believe I have a red oak. Can you confirm?

I'm noticing leaves suddenly disappearing on some isolated branches and found many caterpillars crawling around.

Does anyone know what the problem is and how to treat it?

Thank you!

 

[Del_]

http://www.postandcourier.com/20160...ware-yellownecked-caterpillars-are-on-the-way


http://www.organicgardeninfo.com/yellownecked-caterpillar.html

 

[ATH]

The tree looks more like a pin oak than a red oak.

The bug is either yellow necked or Contracted datana: http://www.ag.auburn.edu/enpl/bulletins/contracteddatana/contracteddatana.htm (both the same genus....)

I'd question the need for control for 2 reasons:
*Neither of these species defoliate the majority of the tree
*Defoliation late in the growing season is far less significant to tree health than early season defoliation. If the tree is otherwise healthy, it will suffer no ill effects.

The Post and Courier article Del posted suggests imidacloprid. That is a weak (at best) insecticide for caterpillars, and is not recommend by most entomologists I have seen or heard report on control.

If you want a systemic, dinotefuran (Transtect or Safari) or Emamectin Benzoate(Tree-AGE) are better options than imidacloprid... Both more expensive, but if you want cheap instead of effective, just use water If spraying the whole tree, Bt is nice, but is not as effective against larger larvae - should have been used earlier. Conserve (active ingredient: spinosad) would be my first choice. The pyrethroids (bifenthrin, the active ingredient in Talstar is one example) are pretty effective options too. Honestly, but the time you buy a quart of the stuff to use 1-2 ounces, you could probably hire somebody to spray it for you for less than the cost of that big bottle you will not likely use up.

 

[BC WetCoast]

I would use a contact spray this season, one of the pyrethroids (Dragnet is what we use) would be my choice.

Next year, spray earlier in the year with BTk.

 

[ironman_gq]

Feed store generic permethrin and a squirt of dish soap. You'll be in for maybe $30 if you've got a sprayer and all the bugs will be gone. Don't use it if you have outdoor cats though, doesn't play well with their system but other warm blooded animals are safe.