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Cankerworms infesting trees
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BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Cankerworms have returned for the third consecutive year to tear through leaves and ravage stressed oak trees.
“They are a real nuisance,” said Bob Tichenor, chief of the Forest Pest Management Section of the state agriculture department.
Residents in Anne Arundel’s Pasadena to Lake Shore areas have spotted the pesky inchworms munching on their tree leaves and dropping onto their shoulders or in their hair, said Tichenor.
Last year, the worms damaged more than 6,000 acres in that area, he said.
Cankerworms are early season defoliators, which feast on young leaves. The trees tend to recover, but since they have returned, cankerworms are affecting damaged trees, including oaks, maples and hickories, according to the state agriculture department.
Heavy defoliation occurs in May and June, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Trees in residential areas have a tough time fighting back, since other conditions such as drier soil add to the stress, Tichenor said.
Adding to the cankerworm woes is similar feasting by gypsy moth caterpillars, a destructive pest commonly found on oaks and other hardwood trees. The young caterpillars, which hatch in April, feed on tops of trees, according to the state agriculture department.
When both worms team up to feast on innocent leaves, “it can cause alarm to people,” said Lawrence Eckart, district manager of the Anne Arundel office at Davey Tree Expert Co.
But agriculture officials have anticipated the gypsy moths, Tichenor said, and this year a spray program will treated more than 50,000 acres in 11 counties, including Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Howard and Harford.
This spraying is alleviating some of the cankerworm infestation.
Initializing a spraying program is costly and complex, so residents are encouraged to protect their trees by contacting a licensed pesticide applicator, Tichenor said.
The Davey Tree Expert Co. received “an elevated amount of calls” last year, but the worms are still in the early stages now, Eckart said.
smichael@baltimoreexaminer.com
Comments from Examiner Readers
6:04 PM MST on Mon., Jul. 7, 2008 re: "Maryland farmers squeezed by soaring fuel, fertilizer costs"
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12:17 PM MST on Fri., Jun. 15, 2007
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11:53 AM MST on Fri., Jun. 15, 2007
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9:11 AM MST on Fri., Jun. 15, 2007
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4:57 AM MST on Thu., May. 3, 2007
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Examiner Reader said:
Rising fuel costs. Chineses drilling 85 miles off our coast while we import. No new refinery within 30 years Do not worry Obama has a tax plan to make it all ok.
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Examiner Reader said:
This is the unfortunate price we pay by thinking and acting that gasoline prices would never change. Wait until winter hits because if it's cold, our prices are going to jump again. It's time to invest in renewable energies, I'd be more than happy to see O'Mally push for these over the new Calvert Cliffs Power Plants. Maybe farmers should be cut a deal to go back to solar and wind power for home and allow more money to be spared for fuel costs.
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Examiner Reader said:
Then what happens when the farmer's neighbor's well runs dry?
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Examiner Reader said:
why does the cow look green?
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Examiner Reader said:
The cows are out of luck, now that we are using corn for fuel. What a plan. It sounds good during good growing seasons, but what do you do now? We need to stop screwing around with band aids to fix our fuel supply problems and get serious about resources that are proven to work. Nuclear power, new refineries and drilling.
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Examiner Reader said:
I saw my grandfather hand milk cows in a barn with only an oil lantern for light. What's the world coming to!!!
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Examiner Reader said:
Isn't it a little demeaning to refer to beautiful dairy cows as "toddlers" and a magnificent robotic milker as a "toy". The technology blows my mind that a cow can be milked by a robot. Good for the Dallams! Kate makes the BEST ice cream in the world at Broom's Bloom Dairy Store.
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Examiner Reader said:
Very interesting article on the robot. However, cows surely get more than "a pellet" while being milked. One pellet would be about the size of a piece of dogfood and would hardly lure the cows to the robot. I hope the cows get a good portion of pellets dumped in front of them when they enter the robot.
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Examiner Reader said:
That doesn't seem like a lot of milk production. are you missing a few zeros? Tim Feeser Carroll County Commissioners office
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Huh? said:
Doesn't the government subsidize milk? What an economic ripoff of citizens. Produce extra milk, waste lots of it then charge more for the little bit that is left.....amazing!
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