Controlling Winter Moths

Leslie Weber
Nov 24, 2024
1 min read

Winter moths have been inhabitants of New England since the early 2000's. Originated from Europe these white and gray moths appear in late fall and as tiny green caterpillar in spring.

Only the male is able to fly so the female moth climbs up trees to lay around 150 eggs under the bark of trees.

The tiny caterpillar spins a line of silk, which carries it into tree canopies. Once there, the destruction to the tree starts as the caterpillars work their way into buds and leaves to feed.

These caterpillars are destroying fruit trees and many native trees such as Oak and Maple. If a tree is healthy, it may produce a second growth of leaves, but for weak trees the defoliation can kill.

A safe and effective control is with Tanglefoot paper banding and Tanglefoot insect barrier.

Simply wrap the paper around the tree trunk and staple onto bark. Then spread the barrier cream on the top half of the paper and completely around the tree. The barrier cream is a sticky substance that when the females climb the tree to lay eggs get stuck and die.