Botanic Garden >> Gardening > >> Question and Answer >> Plant Diseases

Cypress Webbing: Webworms or Bagworms—Spinosad Controls Both

2 of 6 cypress trees graying with webbing on leaves. Owner asks ID and cure.

Two Possibilities

Webworms: Large tents at branch tips; hundreds of caterpillars hatch, feed.
Cedar bagworms: Tiny individual cocoons at leaf tips; grow to 1.5–2" footballs. Harmless, but unsightly.

Treatment

Fertilome Tent Caterpillar, Bagworm & Webworm spray (contains Spinosad—organic, safe, effective). Spray entire tree if feasible. Neither pest kills the tree.

Expert notes: triplicate answers sent due to system quirk—no problem.

Plant Diseases: Ants on Cherry Trees: What They're Really After; Italian Cypress Sequential Decline: Spider Mite and Soil Investigation; White Jelly Blobs on Leyland Cypress: Fungal Issue?; Filamentous Lichens on Trees in Western NC: Harmless Epiphytes; Fine Webbing on Tree Trunks: Bark Lice (Psocids) Are Harmless; Identifying Brown Cones on Italian Cypress Trees; Cypress Trees Submerged in Pond: Likely Dead; Coleus 'Mariposa': A Tall, Color-Shifting Variety; Growing Cypress Trees: Majestic Wetland Natives; Cypress Trees: Varieties, Geography, Wildlife, and Uses

Garden Articles

Large White Spots on Oak Tree Trunks: Smooth Patch Explained

Drooping Branches on Mature Italian Cypress: Water and Fertilizer Fix

Oak Trees Suddenly Dying in Woodland: Possible Causes

Leyland Cypress Roots Damaging Sidewalks: Barrier Solutions

Mystery Seedlings: Why Your "Italian Cypress" Has Blue Flowers

Leyland Cypress Yellowing After Standing Water: Diagnosis and Response

Leyland Cypress Planted 3 Feet from House: Move It Now

Plants

Italian Cypress Roots & Driveways: Low Risk, But Mind the Spacing

Planting Bald Cypress in 4 ft of Water: Likely to Fail

Italian Cypress in Idaho: Hardiness Zone Mismatch

Boosting Growth in Leyland Cypress with Proper Fertilization

Leyland Cypress: Seeds, Care, and Planting in Rocky West Virginia Soil

Dead Spots Around Trees: Allelopathy, Competition, or Mowing Artifacts?

Italian Cypress Tree Care: Elegant Evergreen Columns