Hi, I'm new to growing lots of fruit trees here in Central Oregon, but this year we planted over 70 at a Lutheran Church in Bend. Just three weeks ago i noticed the first of what populated into hundreds of small slug looking little caterpillars. They eat the flesh out of the leaves leaving only a skeleton which quickly dried out and falls. They are black and slimy like a slug but have distinct segmented underside (legs) characteristic of a caterpillar. they are incredibly tiny. I was hoping the recent cold spell would hurt em, and it seemed to, but there are still many around. They particularly love the aronias, pears, apples, and cherries. I really want to know what these little buggers so i can think properly about how to manage them. i don't know how to post an attachment with a photo on this. my email is livinglegacydesign@gmail.com if you can drop me a note if you think you know what it is and i can send you a picture.
Hoping to get to the bottom of this soon,
thanks, Tyler
If there is an extensive web around the insects, it probably is tent caterpillar (army worm). The web protects the insects from sprays, so the best treatment is to burn the web with a propane torch or weed burner. You will burn some leaves; just don't leave the flame in one spot too long and the limbs will be okay. The web actually buns quite nicely. An alternative would be to prune off the branches close to the web and then burn.
In Bend, it is probably tent worms.They will strip a tree completely bare.
I poke a hole in the web and shoot a bit of spray inside. That seems to get rid of them. Or simply spray the tree before they get their webs built.
There is a plague of them in my neighbor's poplar trees, and I had to take my poplars out because they were so infested. They also particularly like European plum trees.
Have your trees recovered from the flood, tylerpratt?
okay, thanks to you all and this awesome forum ( i am now going to use all the time) i I.Ded the culprit. Pear sawfly (Caliroa cerasi). actually not a caterpillar or slug at all, but a fly whose larvae like leaf tissue. for longterm solutions of course ipm is the way to go and one site said predatory stinkbugs (Euschistus spp.) like these buggers. also suggested was soil cultivation underneath trees in spring and fall to disturb pupating (i imagine chickens doing this job well!) and as a last resort neem, rotenone, or pyrethrum. not sure if i will take direct action this fall cause i hate spraying, yet am a bit worried if i don't, because the site was so disturbed that there is still little ecology.(next years focus) anyways, thanks everyone for helping!
whoever yo uare who commented on the flood if you are on this site you are probably a fruit freak and if you haven't been out to the food forest we should get you out there. the flood was minor (12" main broke under busy road and made a ravine through the newly planted food forest), and i lucked out and was out of town. apparently the next weekend dozens showed up to fill the ravine, rake up gravel that had engulfed rasp. and strawb. beds, and by the time i got back i hardly would have noticed had i not heard such a fuss. anyways, food forest is kickin butt (70 different varieties of trees alone)!!
anyone interested in the region look me up livinglegacydesign@gmail.com
thanks, tyler
Pear slug was suggested on another garden website. If that is what it is, you've brought in a new pest to Central Oregon. Please get rid of it before it gets established.
Spray, to me, would be the first resort not the last for a newly introduced pest.
I've driven past your church and watched the planting. It looks very nice. I've heard that you are feeding a lot of people with your garden. It seems to be an admirable project.
pear sawfly i am pretty sure. i have heard other people say they have the same thing annually on large trees here in bend, so i'm not the first, and our trees were from a local nursery, so if that's the case, i'm not hte only one. everything i've read about them (a few hours yesterday that is) says that they are pretty well established throughout the states. yes, i will do what i can to get rid of it.
nativity lutheran is not my church, just an awesome community i associate with who has a similar passion to help people and the earth. i visioned the food forest, they jumped at the idea, and now we are on going for it.
why don't we have more of these places is what i want to know? bend is pretty behind the times when it comes to these affairs. permaculture is like greek around here. people prefer to golf.
sorry for the last minute sarcasm.
wishing everyone peace and prosperity. t
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