Gypsy Moths Are Attacking Michigan Trees
There is an unusual amount of gypsy moths this year and they can do real damage to a lot of Michigan trees.
I noticed a lot of these caterpillars last year while riding the ATV with my son. We got to a trail in Newaygo County and found a row of trees and bushes that were just covered with these caterpillars. We saw a few other pockets of these caterpillars on some other trails as well.
Recently my son and I went to take down our turkey blind and found it covered in gypsy moths on the outside and the inside. We couldn't get them off fast enough before others began sliding down on silk from the trees above us. We eventually had to move the blind out into the open to rid the blind of caterpillars.
I have never seen it this bad before. It is usually isolated to a few trees in an area but it seems that by me just about every tree near my property is covered with these caterpillars.
This past weekend I went to take off the cover of my pontoon boat and if was covered with these caterpillars. It took a while to get these things off so I could fold up the cover.
According to WOOD, the groundskeepers that work at Holland's Pilgrim Home Cemetery noticed a gypsy moth infestation a year ago. They said the caterpillars were destroying their European beech trees.
These caterpillars that will soon turn into full fledged gypsy moths can eat every leaf off a tree. These are yet another invasive insect that is doing some serious damage to Michigan tree's.
You can get professionals to spray your trees to rid them of the gypsy moths but what do you do when its an entire forest.
The gypsy moth population for some reason had a boom every 7 to 10 years and usually do their most damage from spring until the end of July.
This isn't an isolated problem, it is happening in every town or city in West Michigan as well as the rest of the state.
Some trees can withstand the gypsy moths but many are killed off because with no leaves the trees basically starve to death.
If you have the capabilities to have your trees professionally sprayed, it would help cut down the number of these gypsy moths.
I'm still not sure what I'm going to do, but hopefully the birds and insects that eat these caterpillars are hungry and get their fill because it's a caterpillar buffet right now at my place.