Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1914-03-05
NEW ENGLAND Moth PESTS
Favorable Outlook for Lessening De-
predatiOns of Gypsy Moth If Care
full Methods are Adopted.


Brown-tail moths on the fruit and shade
trees of New England have not been
so serious during the past season a. in
previous years. Diseases and introduced
parasites have attacked the caterpillars
of these moths and have caused az least
a temporary check on two most DANCER
Gus pests However, certain new terri
Tory has been infested and the depart-
ment of agriculture still considers It of
vital Importance that aggressive measures
be continued to control these dangerous
insects. 1t Is. therefore. now issuing Far
mers' Bulletin No. 564, entitled The
GYPSY Moth and the BrownTail Moth
With Suggestions for Their Control"
The Gipsy Moth Is capable of causing
enormous injury to tree growers. In the
area in New England, which has suffered
most. thousands of trees are dead as a
result Of being deprived Of their leaves
by this pest. Apple and oak trees have
been injured most; pines have also suf-
fered severely. 1t spreads rapidly and
in Europe where 1t has been longer in
evidence it has become seriously injurious
to many sections. The damage 1t causes
is ordinarily not so esvere as that
cause the Brown-tail moth does not have
so wide range of food plants and. be-
cause the bulk of this feeding is done
early In the season so that the trees have
an opportunity to recover before midsum-
mer. In the territory where both insects
exist the caterpllars of the gypsy moth
supplement the work which Is done by
those of the brown-tail moth and the
injury is, therefore, greatly increased
One of the best methods of controlling
the gypsy moth is to treat the egg clus-
tiers of the insect, between August l and
April l. with creosote A small amount
of lamp black Is added to discolor the
treated eggs. and it is sold in the gypsy
moth infested district under the name of
gypsy moth creosote" 1t is applied with
brush and penetrates the cluster rapid
", destroying the eggs. Creosote may be
obtained in small quantities from nearly
all the large hardware or seed stores in
the infested district. where 1t usually
sells for about So cents gallon If Sc
cured in larger quantities a much lower
price can be obtained.
The Brown-tail moth can be controlled
by cutting off its winter webs and burn
ing them before the caterpilars begin to
emerge In April. These webs should be
destroyed by fire, for if they are simply
cut from the tree and left on the ground
the caterpillars will emerge and no bene-
fit will result from the work which has
been done.
In orchard practice it is sometimes in
advisable to cut the winter webs, for
where an infestation is bad it Is likely
to leave a poorly shaped tree. Spraying in
the spring is not a satisfactory remedy,
unless the infestation is very light, be-
cause the caterpillars, when they occur
in large numbers, do not allow the tree
to put out sufficient foliage TO hold the
spray material. The most effective meth
cd Is to spray the trees before the mid
die of August using from six to 10
pounds of arsenate of lead to 100 gallons
of water. Before spraying operations of
this sort are attempted care should be
taken to determine whether the trees are
well infested with egg masses of the
| brown-tail moth. for if the infestation
is very slight it will be more salts
factory TO cut and destroy the webs.
Burlap bands, II not attached to the
tree too early In the season. are an eff
fective method Of control for the gypsy
moth. If attached too early. however,
| before the brown-tail catcrpillars have
| made their cocoons. the bands afford an
| excellent place for the cocoons. These
caterpillars are poisonous and severe
| poisoning has resulted to workmen be-
cause the caterpillars accumulate under
| the burlap bands attached TOO early In
| the season.
| The use of burlap bands is also expen-
siye However, IL they are attached to
| the trees after June To- they prove an
effective method of control. The cater
pillars seek shelter during hot sunny
DAYS and will therefore. crawl beneath
| the band where they may be crushed
| each day. Ordinarily strip of burlap
about eight inches wide is placed loosely
| around the tree trunk and piece or
twine passed around the center and tied
to hold 1t In place. After this Is done
the top part OF the burlap Is folded
| down so that double shelter Is made
beneath. The department Of agriculture
new bulletin gives an illustration which
shows the effectiveness of this method
when used at the proper time,
Early spraying In orchards Will bt
| found useful II only a few egg clusters
| are present The most effective spray
for the gypsy moth is arsenate Of lead
paste applied to the foliage at the rate