Garden News


Tent Caterpillars

Eastern Tent Caterpillars are voracious feeders that do swift damage if they go undetected. Usually found in fruit trees, they tend to build in the crux of intersecting branches. This helps them to remain undetected until mass breakout. During early instar stages these pests feed and return to the nest, add more silk and enlarge the “tent”. Toward the last phase of their caterpillar stage, or larval instar, they break out and do massive destruction. While partial to fruit tree, the tent caterpillar can also be found nesting in bushes (Laurels, Red Tip Photinia and Roses top the list). Beyond the damage these pests inflict, they also make a mighty mess as gobs of these insects lounge about on your …

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Silver Thread Moss

This highly competitive nuisance is the most common in the Bryaceae (moss) family. It can grow in nearly every climate and is native to just about every country. Since it is a global problem, one would expect controls would be readily available; however, this is not the case. The reproduction method of moss makes it difficult to eradicate. Moss can reproduce either sexually, with the transfer of genetic material, or asexually, when a bit of one moss breaks off and starts to grow to form another. Oddly, the commercial cultivation of the plant often results in failure making it by definition a weed. Although products exist that claim good control, they cannot do the job on their own. These products …

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