The Bagworm
An Insect Pest that Builds and Carries Its Home Wherever It Goes
We recently had an outbreak of bagworms at St. James Episcopal Church in Clayton. We found several bagworms on two Hinoki cypress trees and some on nearby shrubs. I contacted John Scaduto, Rabun County Extension Agent, for assistance. He came to the church for an on-site visit. Unfortunately, one of the trees was too damaged to save, so it was removed from the landscape along with all material on the ground. The trees were too large to hand-remove the bagworms and extensive damage had already occurred. We followed up by spraying with an acephate chemical on all trees around the sanctuary. There will be close observation as we move forward.
This is really an interesting insect pest, so I decided to share our experience. Below is an article from John that I found helpful. It includes some photos that show what bagworms look like.
Kathy Booker, Headwaters Master Gardener
The Bagworm and Its Control
The bagworm, Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis (Haworth), is one of the more curious and interesting insect pests of trees and shrubs. Its carrot-shaped bag is constructed of bits of material from the plant upon which it is feeding and is enlarged as the bagworm grows. The bag is carried wherever the worm goes. When disturbed, the bagworm merely pulls its head back into the bag for protection.
Food Plants
The bagworm is especially fond of junipers, cedars, arborvitae, and white pine, but it is also found feeding on a number of shade tree and shrub species. Some 128 species of plants are susceptible to bagworm feeding injury.