A lot has been said about the pesky gypsy moth, but what about the dastardly, serial killer of landscape evergreens, bagworms? They just adore devouring your ornamental arborvitae, juniper or spruce. If one unfortunate bush gets infested, a whole line of your expensive greenery can go down like dominoes.
They are creepy and crawly and multiply faster than rabbits. My husband can pick one out from 20 yards away, but I have a hard time spotting them. My eyes aren’t what they used to be because these sneaky critters seem to blend in with the trees. To me they resemble two-inch, narrow pine cones that hang from the branches.
The only way to completely rid one’s landscape of the big, bad bug is to hand pick each one off before they hatch and squish it. Some use the heel of their shoe. But my husband’s preferred method is to collect them in a bucket and douse them with kerosene, or run them over with the car.
This is where our problems start. Lately we can’t seem to get out of our arborvitae lined driveway in less than 20 minutes. My hubby’s eagle eye will spot a bag worm and before you know it the car door has flown open, he’s jumped out of the vehicle, and the bushes swallow him up.
Sometimes I get bored waiting and do something constructive like balance my checkbook or clean out my pocketbook. Other times I calculate just how late we’re going to be for music lessons or that doctor’s appointment. When he finally does gets back in the car, where I’m sweltering, mind you (no air conditioning), he is on a mission. He backs the car up to run the pests over, starts down the driveway again, goes three feet, comes to a jolting stop, and the process repeats. He loves his bushes.
I can’t blame him. A lot of equity, both cash and sweat, is in our yard. A few doors down, a neighbor lost 15 evergreens. She planted new ones, but lo and behold, the bag bugs are back. At $40 a pop, losing bushes can get to be an expensive proposition.
It’s been picking up the last couple of years,” said Jim Lashomb, a Rutgers University insect expert, commenting on the infestation cycle. That’s one of the most frequently encountered insect pests in the state.
Seeing how time-consuming bag bug obsessing can be, my 11-year-old, in the entrepreneurial spirit, has come up with a great business plan. Suited up in her bag bug busting gear, for $10 an hour, she’ll pick your bushes clean by grabbing those bad babies, and humanely drowning the buggers in a bucket.
Her work schedule is already full, however, and I’m first on her list of customers. I’m predicting we’ll now be able to get out of our driveway in less than 10 minutes. Until next year.
What’s On Deck
Middle Township High School’s principal’s secretary, Judi Hamilton, would like to get the word out that parents of high school students will be receiving a packet of information and forms for each student in the mail later tomorrow or Friday. As all of this information is important, the school asks that parents read everything and complete the forms as indicated. MTHS staff are looking forward to a great opening on Sept. 5!
