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Bagworms
Bagworms
The bagworm forms a carrot-shaped bag of bits of material from the plant it is feeding on. The bagworm enlarges its bag as it continues to grow and carries the bag wherever it goes. When disturbed, the bagworm pulls its head back into the bag for protection.
The bagworm is especially fond of junipers, cedars, arborvitae, and white pine, but it is also found feeding on a number of shade trees and shrub species. High populations of bagworms can defoliate plants. Bagworms spend the winter as eggs inside the female's bag. Several hundred eggs may be laid and overwinter in each bag.
Eggs begin to hatch in late April to mid-May. As the larvae feed, they begin constructing a silken shelter over their bodies and add pieces of twigs and foliage, bark, and shed skins to form the bag. The bags offer camouflage and repel rainwater.
Feeding and growth continues until August, when larvae are full grown and the bags are about 2.5 inches long. At this time, they stop feeding and loop strands of silk around a twig to become firmly attached. There is only one generation of bagworms each year.
Consult UT Extension publication 341-U, The Bagworm and Its Control, found here, for more information.
Management Strategies
Management Strategies
One of the best ways to control bagworms is to simply handpick and destroy them in the fall, winter, or before the eggs hatch in the spring. A thorough job must be done, so handpicking on a large tree can be impractical.
Chemical controls should be applied when the bagworms are small. The larger the bagworm, the more difficult they are to kill.
For chemical control recommendations, consult the Insect and Plant Disease Control Manual, UT Extension Publication 1690, found here. Please contact your local Extension office for specific pesticide recommendations.
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