Yuck! It’s a tent caterpillar year

From staff reports

Once again it is a year for the Tent Caterpillar (also known as the Bag Worm). They can be creepy, they devour the leaves on branches and trees, and are even seen crossing the roads in search of more trees. The downside is that they are messy, and an eyesore.

It turns out that they have a good side: they are a great resource for our winged friends! Birds love the caterpillars, and they are timed perfectly for raising young birds in the nest. The surviving moths are also a tasty treat for bats and other nocturnal creatures.

But why are they so pesky some years? “They reach these explosive population levels very easily, and they can outstrip their predators,” says Dr. Doug Tallamy, professor of Entomology at the University of Delaware. “Their natural population mode of action is to be what we call an eruptive species.” Dr. Tallamy encourages people to live with them for the sake of the birds, and when they are encroaching on your yard, offers a simple solution that does not involve a blowtorch.

He recommends looking for the egg mass, which appears as a “little piece of styrofoam that wraps around the branch,” and can be scraped off in the summer, fall, or winter. Doing so will eliminate those caterpillars for the coming year, and rid your yard of this pest.

For now.