Q&A for How to Get Rid of Bagworms

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Do they die during the winter?

Community Answer

They lay down hundreds of eggs in their bags before they die in winter. These eggs start hatching in summer.

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Question

Will they kill a tree?

Community Answer

Yes. I lost a few of my trees because of them. They eat the leaves/needles until there is nothing left.

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Question

If I have picked of 80 bags of works from an evergreen bush, will that help get rid of them if there are still more?

Community Answer

It definitely will slow the process.

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Question

What if the nest is too high up in a tree?

Community Answer

There are some pesticides on the market that come in a bottle that attaches to your hose. This will shoot pretty far.

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Question

I have bag worms on the top branches of my 30 foot spruce tree. How do I get rid of them?

Community Answer

Power spray using an approved insecticide at the right time.

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Question

1/2 of my pine tree is brown and the other half is still very green. One spot on the side that's brown is still green. Can the tree still be saved?

Community Answer

Yes. Just as long as you remove the infestation, you should be fine. The tree will recover just fine.

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Question

I am the only one in the subdivision that gets bagworms, why is this?

Heidi Moulton

Community Answer

This almost has to be because you have a different selection of plants in your landscaping. If not, then a natural predator or disease is present in their yards but not yours. Different species of bagworm prefer different species of food plants. Bagworms are also parasitized by Braconid wasps and have their own diseases. If your are using insecticides, it is possibly that you have inadvertently killed a population of bagworm predators, but probably you just have plants that that species likes.

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Question

What do I do to prevent bagworms from coming back?

Community Answer

Use Bonide Tree & Shrub insecticide as a soil drench for your tree or shrub.

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Question

What plants deter bagworms?

Community Answer

'Alaska' Shasta daisies and others in the aster family supposedly attract some of the parasitic wasps that can help control bagworms.

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Question

Will picking all of the bagworms off of the tree stop the process?

Community Answer

Yes, for that particular season. We picked a bunch of them off our bald cypress a few years ago. We haven't noticed anymore since, but that doesn't mean they won't come back.

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Question

How do bagworms spread?

Community Answer

Wind, and the parent moth lays eggs in the bags that winter over and hatch in the spring.

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Question

I have a 9-year-old Arizona cypress completely covered in them. They're beginning to spread to my other plants. My free ranging hens take shelter under these trees. Anything I can use that's not toxic to my hens?

Community Answer

I have read many articles where people suggest picking them off the tree and putting them into soapy water until they sink, at which point you can dispose of them. You don't want to have them on the ground, as they will spread. You can also google "bagworm" and there are many other suggestions for sprays. These bagworms can take out your entire tree colony.

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Question

If half of my weeping white pine is mostly brown (bottom half), can the tree survive?

Community Answer

The tree cannot survive. If the bottom half is brown, the roots are being affected. The top half's' pine leaves would be able to be regrown.

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Question

I just found bagworms on my evergreen tree and noticed them migrating to my maple tree. Will they harm the maple?

Community Answer

No, bagworms are only attracted to the leaves/needles of pines and other trees that have needles.

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Question

How do I tell if something is a bagworm?

Community Answer

They look like a small, bullet shaped bundle of brown and green needles. A black worm sticks its head out. They can move amazingly fast if you don't put them in soap suds.

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Question

How soon after spreading can I water my plants and lawn?

Community Answer

Give it about a month and you should be fine.

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Question

Do bagworms attack arborvitaes?

Community Answer

Yes, the do. Those are the only plants on my property they seem to infest, and they will go at them with a vengeance.

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Question

Will bagworm pesticides hurt birds?

Community Answer

Yes, pesticides impact birds that eat caterpillars, and especially early in the season they are feeding them to their baby birds. This is why it is so important to be persistent in cutting off the bags before spring. Keep at it!

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Question

Is it common to get bagworms on a maple tree?

Community Answer

No, they prefer evergreens, making their bags out of silk and pieces of the evergreen they are on.

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