I noticed several days ago that my spruce is browning from the top down. I looked at it today and there are many cone type things on it that are wiggling. It actually looks like a cone but when I took one off and squeezed it, there was something alive in there. Does anybody know what I can do or is it too late to save my spruce?
Bagworms. Pull them all off by hand (wear gloves if you don't like handling them, though they aren't dangerous to handle), and squish them underfoot.
If you pick them all off, they won't be laying any eggs so won't 'come back'. Sprays don't get through their 'bags' easily so don't work well (and might also harm other beneficial insects and birds).
We, my 2 kids and a neighbor child, must have picked off a couple of thousand...it took us 2 hours to get them all off. The top of the tree is basically dead so I cut off most of the vegetation. I also read that the eggs are laid in the fall. When is the best time to spray? Spring or Fall? Thanks for taking the time with me, Michael. We have lived here for six years and that tree has never had them before.
Cutting off the foliage is a bit of a disaster with spruce, as they are not capable of sprouting new shoots from bare branches. Even leaving the brown needles increases the probability that new buds will form and green up the tree next spring. Depending on the bagworm damage, those branches may have been done anyway but cutting it all off pretty much means a permanent bare patch on the top of the tree....it may have to go forward as a globe spruce rather than a conical one.
