TRAVERSE CITY -- Ann Weitz spotted the caterpillars' cocoon-like webs, about five of them, in a wild cherry tree on her property near Long Lake.
She doesn't like to spray, especially because she lives so close to the water. So she got rid of them another way.
"I poked a stick in it, and I actually wound it up almost like cotton candy," said Weitz, who lives in Long Lake Township. "They have not rebuilt them."
Officially, the crawlers are known as
The caterpillars tend to appear in waves, but it's hard to predict when their numbers will be strongest.
In years like this one, when the caterpillars are particularly abundant, it's not surprising to see their telltale silk webs appear in other types of trees or plants.
"It is very unusual for them to be as numerous as they have been for two years in a row," said Duke Elsner, an agricultural educator for the Michigan State University Extension office in Grand Traverse County. "It's not as widespread as last year, but where it is, I think it's much worse."
The creature's eggs -- laid on tree branches in July and dormant until spring -- generally hatch by early May, and the larvae establish webs in spots where several branches converge, Elsner said. One web, he added, could contain as many as 100 caterpillars.
Most are full-grown by mid-June and build cocoons near the ground. They transform into moths by early July.
Normally, they aren't much more than a nuisance. But trees can die after multiple years of infestations.
Cherry trees are good at reproducing lost foliage, Elsner said, but apple varieties are not.
"I used to say never would they kill, but now I'm starting to believe it could happen," he said.
A group of first-graders on a recent trail hike at the county's Nature Education Reserve pointed out the webs each time they spotted some, said Rebecca Teahen, development coordinator with the Grand Traverse Conservation District, which oversees the property.
Staff members haven't sprayed the caterpillars and, for now, are not trying to remove them. But they do have handouts for interested residents on how they can get rid of them.
"We're seeing lots of them," Teahen said. "Not that we want them. We're not protecting them at all."
Tent caterpillar removal tips
The eastern tent caterpillar, a native species that has emerged strong this spring, poses the most threat to trees after several years of infestation.
Duke Elsner, an agricultural educator for the Michigan State University Extension office in Grand Traverse County, offered some tips on how to remove them:
-- The silky webs can be wrapped around a stick, then stomped beneath your feet or dipped into soapy water.
-- Pruning is difficult because the webs are found at the convergence of several branches. Torching them also raises the risk of wildfire. Both methods can cause more damage to the tree than the caterpillars themselves.
-- Insecticidal soaps can be used to soak the webs, but they work best when the webs are small and only if the soap touches the caterpillars. A spray, such as Dipel, can be sprayed on the leaves. Caterpillars have to ingest it for it to be effective.
-- Caterpillars are preyed upon by birds and other insects, which naturally reduces the population.
-- In the fall, check the branches for egg clusters. They will look black and shiny, almost like plastic. Pruning them will prevent them from hatching in the spring.
