Webworms – How to Prevent Webworms Naturally （2018）

How to Prevent Webworms Naturally

Webworms are permanent residents of the fall gardens. Though they are not harmful and picky eaters they are usually considered to be ugly. Getting rid of them at times can be quite trickier but there are a lot of natural ways which can be even used in your garden too if you find any there. Knowing these things can always make you a better gardener and can help you to keep your garden safe, free of unwanted pests and also attractive.

Using strong chemicals on the plants at times can hamper the growth of the other plants and can also repel the beneficial insects as well but, if you plan revolves around the natural ways of getting rid of these webworms things can happen the way you want them to.

Before understanding how to prevent and get rid of webworms with natural way, let us quickly understand the benefits of these natural pesticides.

• The best solution

Major damage causing pesticides can be killed with the usage of these natural insecticides. These insecticides are made using the natural ingredients hence, they would not have any adverse effects and also they would completely focus on the infected areas, however, the preparation and also reaction of these insecticides can be quite slower than the chemical ones. However, having put up with patience with these natural pesticides can be very beneficial to the gardeners.

• Easily available

The ingredients used in the preparation of these insecticides are easily available. Most of them are made using the products readily available at home and can be easily picked up from the kitchen. Without zero side-effects the pesticides made using these ingredients are considered to be one of the safest by a lot of seasoned gardeners. You could choose mineral oil; garlic and vinegar are the most used ingredients. At times, you could also use tobacco in making the spray for getting rid of these caterpillars and when you know how to prevent and get rid of webworms in the natural way it becomes easier to prevent your ornamental plants.

• Affordable

Preparing these pesticides is a very easy process and since you would make them using the ingredients from your kitchen it becomes all the more affordable. When things are easily available at home things can become easier and also the entire process can become fun. You would be preparing these pesticides keeping in mind your garden and you would have the best control over deciding on things.  The ingredients you choose would also be researched upon thoroughly and then the concentration would be done as required hence; the effect would certainly be great.

Using these home-made pesticides regularly and at frequent intervals can get rid of the webworms easily. These sprays are any day cheaper than those organic and natural sprays that are available at the stores. Another benefit of making your own pesticide is that you would know that all the products used are natural and organic unlike the ones bought straight from the stores.

• Zero risk

Since the ingredients used are known there would be nothing to worry about absolutely and these mixtures would definitely not have any sort of side effects. They would just kill the webworms without having any effects on the other plants, animals and also on human beings.

• Effective

In order to get rid of the pests and other harmful pests and worms, people in olden days made use of these natural pesticides and ever since then these have been considered to be one of the most effective ways to get rid of the worms, caterpillars and other harmful pests easily.

• Harmless

Since these pesticides are made using the natural ingredients which are known to you they are really harmless unlike the pesticides available online or any other stores. Hence, you do not have to worry to keep children away from the garden area or wait until the sprayed area gets dried completely to go to the garden and have fun. This is one of the major benefits of getting to know how to prevent and get rid of webworms with natural way!

• Can be used by everyone

Some of the sprays bought from a store can be used by the ones who can read and understand the directions without any mistake. But, the ones prepared at home can be used by all without thinking twice because it does not require any extra supervision or instructions to be followed to make use of these homemade pesticides.

• Children are safe

When you use a chemical ingested pesticide you might have to think before you allow your children to enter the garden area but when these pesticides made at home are used then, everything would be safe and you do not have to worry too much before using them to get rid of the worms.

These are some of the advantages of using homemade pesticides versus the ones bought from stores. Chemicals used in the insecticides can at times damage the other plants and also keep the beneficial insects away from the garden area and this can be highly dangerous for gardeners. Hence, knowing how to prevent can help you save your ornamental plants.

Mentioned below are some of the means and ways to prevent and get rid of webworms in a natural way!

1. Attract predators which eat webworms

There are more than 75 natural predators who feed on these kinds of webworms and hence, usually plants do not require any insecticides to be sprayed to keep them safe from these webworms. The eggs of these webworms get eaten by a lot of predators like spiders, parasitic wasps, birds, assassin bugs. The webworms can also be gotten rid by placing birdbaths as this attracts a lot of birds. These things can also be placed at the yards hence; it becomes quite easy to attract them easily.

Flower plants are to be planted in order to keep these webworms away. Also, you need to try and attract the bird feeders and birdhouses where you would see a lot of webworms breeding in the gardens. Some of the plants like Gypsophila elegant, Origanum majorana and basil can also help you keep these webworms away from the fall gardens.

2. Web removal

Branches and especially the tips of the branches is where the webworms find their abode. They build nests in the tips of the branches hence; removing those webs is not that difficult. You can either choose to dust them off or cut the ends of the branches as they would be infected. Sanitizing the tools once the infected wood is pruned is essential and the sanitization process is completed only when the equipment is dipped in a solution of denatured alcohol and methanol which can become quite poisonous and the foul smell from this concentration can keep the webworms away.

A solution made out of 9 parts of water and 1 part of chlorine bleach can also help you to fight the webworms easily. If you are worried about the ornamental plants then, you must make sure that you are removing the parts only which are infected because cutting the entire plant may certainly spoil the looks of the entire garden and also the ornamental plant can become quite unattractive as well.

3. Tear the webs manually

A lot of people choose to tear the webs open to get rid of the webworms. Though this is a good idea as it does invite a lot of birds and other predators to directly access the webworms yet it can be a threat at times as it can make aggravate the webworms and can make them have their nests everywhere else too.

When you are removing the webworms you need to make sure that they are settled safely in their nests and the apt time to get rid of them from the garden is either early mornings or evenings after sunset. Only during these times can you be sure about these webworms being nestled in their homes. You can choose to perish them by placing the entire web either in a bucket full of soapy water or you could also choose to throw them in a trash can.

Remember never to drop the caterpillars on the ground because the chances of them returning to their original plants are really high. Hence, destroying them completely is very important.

4. Use microbial pesticide to get rid of the worms

The microbial pesticide is one of the most used ways to get rid of these webworms easily. BT or the Bacillus thuringiensis Kurstaki strain (Btk) is one such microbial pesticide which kills the caterpillars quickly and it has been an exclusive remedy found to get rid of these webworms easily from the fall garden.

The BT does not have any effect on any other species and it is absolutely safe to be used. There are no harmful effects found either in human-beings, animals, birds and other plants when this pesticide is used in the garden. Also, another benefit of using this pesticide is it differentiates easily between the caterpillars and other beneficial insects easily and acts only on those which need to be treated.

All you have to do is use BTK on the foliage of the plants and once the webworms come to dwell in this particular foliage they are affected by the medicine which kills the pests in a few days.

This pesticide has to be used with caution hence, reading the directions on the product bottle are very important. 4 teaspoons concentration of BTK solution has to be mixed with a gallon of water and should be sprayed on the branches which have the nest. You need to spray it thoroughly throughout all the places where the webworms are being spotted and this includes the sides, tops and also the surroundings of the plant.

The spray has to be used repeatedly every 5-7 days and when there is a heavy rainfall within a day of the treatment the spray has to be used immediately once again all over. Remember to spray these on the affected areas and keep it away from any other plants that attract the butterflies as BTK has the tendency to kill the caterpillars of these butterflies as well.

5. Handpicking

This can be one of the easiest methods to get rid of pests which are larger in size but this requires a little bit of practice and also a lot of perseverance because the caterpillars are really soft and mushy and touching them may be a challenge at times. Hence, you need to first get rid of that weird feeling from your mind off even before having an idea of touching them.

Once this feeling id away from you, it becomes quite easy to remove them off the plants. If you still have the strange feeling towards these creatures, wearing a pair of thick gloves can be a good idea instead of touching them with bare hands. Remember to learn everything about these worms before attacking them with your hands and only then start removing them from the plants.

6. Managing the waste properly

Try and find out the host plant and first get rid of those plants and this would easily help you to get the webworms off from the other places easily. Once, this has been done effectively learn to manage the waste thoroughly because adding any of these infected leaves or any other parts of the plants where the worms have bread can become a problem. The compost pile with these leaves can also be infected if these leaves are added into it. Hence, managing the waste properly is a must when you get rid of the webworms.

7. Insecticides and Pesticides which are organic

There are a lot of homemade insecticides and pesticides available and these things can be made at home. Most of the gardeners prefer to use these sprays as they do not cost and can also be made using some of the easily available ingredients at home like salt, garlic, and mineral oil. While using these pesticides you do not have to think twice about the plants as it is totally harmless.

However, spraying these pesticides frequently becomes very important. Also, during the rainy season, you need to make sure to spray these medicines a lot more by keeping a check on the plant’s health.

 

8. Remove the dead plants and leaves

You need to keep an eye on the plants which get infected because these plants can be problem creators as the webworms could have been there. Hence, getting rid of these plants becomes a necessary step to free your garden from the menace of these caterpillars.

9. Carbaryl is the answer

The Carbaryl-based pesticides are known to be an effective solution for treating the webworms and this pesticide should be used when the caterpillars are still small. Reading the instructions on the bottle before usage is very important. It is similar to that of BTK; you need to mix 4 teaspoons of this concentrated solution into 1 gallon of water. Spray it everywhere until the entire infected place is covered thoroughly. The treatment should again be repeated only after 7 days of wait time, however, this spray cannot be used as per your whims and fancies as it can have some adverse effects if done so.

Hence, it is recommended to use this spray only 4 times a year. This treatment can also have harmful effects on human beings, other animals and also other plants. Remember to keep the pets away when this treatment has taken place. The areas being sprayed should completely be dried and only then can you allow the children and pets in the garden area. Wearing gloves, goggles and fully covered clothes becomes necessary before you spray this pesticide on the infected area. You have to be very careful before you spray this as it has the tendency to kill the other beneficial insects as well.

10. Apply a safe pre-emergent control

Using a corn-based chemical to treat these pests in the garden can be successful. This is one of the organic pesticides which a lot of gardeners use to keep their plants free of webworms. This pesticide can prevent you from keeping the webworms away and harmless as well. This sort of pesticide does not kill the growth of other plants hence; using this can be one of the safest ways to get rid of the webworms.

These are some of the best-proven methods when it comes to the natural way of preventing your crops and plants in the garden from the webworms effectively. While a lot of people ignore these webworms as a trivial one, be careful the next time you spot them in your garden as they can be the main reasons for having an unattractive garden.

As a gardener, it is always recommended to know certain traditional methods of getting rid of pests too!

【Read More】

• Webworms – How to Prevent Webworms Naturally （2018）
• Webworm – Everything That You Need to Know About Webworms