Why are caterpillars on the pine tree? How to deal with a pest?

Every year the beginning of summer, gardeners and truck farmers have to meet fully armed with insecticides and motor sprayers in their hands. More and more often complaints are heard from the owners of suburban areas on pests that destroy pine and spruce, especially young coniferous trees, well established on the spot.

Why do caterpillars eat pine and spruce?

The thing is that our wild forests are in distress. No matter how much the owners of country houses take care of their plot, various harmful insects - leaf rollers, bark beetles, aphids, sawflies, spores of dangerous fungi growing on the bark of trees, migrate from nearby forests. After all, today the forests are not cleaned, they do not have a master. Everywhere there is a thicket and a windbreak. What is there to be surprised when you see that even on a pine caterpillars eat something.

Who eats our trees?

The source of diseases of coniferous trees is not only insects from the forest belt, but also inhabitants of imported soil or planting material. The weakened tree is a tasty morsel for many wood eaters and pathogens. The first by smell hear such a tree and pounce on it, like flies on jam, to intrude into a tree or gnaw through pine needles. But pathogens - provokers of diseases, are transferred to trees with the help of wind, rain, man, insects or birds.

Sucking pests

Such pests feed on plant juice, inhibiting its vital functions or completely destroying it. Most often such insects are: leafhoppers, bedbugs, coccids, aphids, gallic and spider mites. Often, eat needles or kidneys on the pine caterpillars. They are called "pine moths". Butterflies of these representatives of the world of insects lay their eggs on the old needles, from which from the end of June to the end of September there are hordes of hungry insects. Most often this pest eats pine ordinary, but can eat and spruce, and cedar.

Another pest - a pine scoop. Although in the stage of the caterpillar this pest does not last long, it is noticeable to "foul" it. Located on the pine caterpillar pest with pleasure gnawing May shoots, eat young pine needles and buds, which leads to the drying of the tree, especially in dry weather.

Black caterpillars on the pine can refer to "pine miner moths." The hvoinka is braided with cobwebs, that's why it sticks to the tree. But the wind will blow, and the needles fall off, so the crown can completely go bald. Small caterpillars literally gnaw round pits at the base of the needles. Sometimes it is very difficult to establish a diagnosis, for this you need to take the needles in your hands.

How to fight?

What if you have a caterpillar in your area? First of all, against the pine moth in the late autumn, it is necessary to dig the soil around the trees, because pups crochet in the soil. You can use a variety of sprayers, they are sold in large quantities in specialized stores.

Seated on the pine caterpillars, which are the offspring of a pine scoop, are destroyed effectively by food baits. This method is convenient because the bait with fermentation additives is installed once, but it works a whole summer. Be sure to dig the ground under the tree to destroy the brown insect pupae. During bud blossoming, the tree is treated with biological preparations or insecticides.

Against the caterpillars of the mining moth, multiple treatment of the tree with a solution of liquid soap helps a lot. You can lay under the tree cellophane and comb the fan broom dry needles, then burn.