Carpet Bag Worm

These worms use over 100 different plants as their food.

Carpet bag worm.

The case of the plaster bagworm is somewhat similar to a watermelon or pumpkin seed in its shape size and flatness. Bagworm egg sacks are brown and one and a half to two inches 3 8 to 5 cm long. For control of bagworms insecticides should be sprayed on young larvae during late june or early july. When it comes to pine trees their sacks are mistaken for actual small pine cones.

If you re at home thinking what is this freaky small gray bag hanging from my wall then you might have a plaster bagworm. What you might think is worms in your carpet is most likely the larvae of assorted insect species such as spider moth and fly larvae. Evergreen bagworms attach their bags mainly to evergreen trees making it look like pinecones. It can look like an empty case or shell.

Grass bagworms are attached to grass until they pupate then it attaches its bag to the sides of fences and buildings. The worm is controlled with insecticides because of this reason. At 2 mm they re barely larger than a pinhead which makes them light as a feather. Bagworm sacks can be very hard to find because they look like pine cones.

The bag is spindle shaped made from silk and camouflaged with small bits of bark foliage and other debris obtained from the host tree or plant. The snailcase bagworm constructs their bags when larvae drop to the ground on silken threads and make c shaped cases around themselves. Slit like openings are located at each end. No matter what type of larvae you are dealing with it is best to remove them as quickly as possible through meticulous cleaning.

Begin looking for bagworms during the winter or early spring. Full size bags may range in size from 1 2 inches long. Upon hatching young larvae crawl out of the bottom of the bag and start to feed and construct silken shelters over their bodies. The eggs hatch in late spring or early summer when super tiny black larvae emerge.

In the fall the insects use their silk and pieces of the tree to create a camouflaged cocoon looking bag which they fill with up to 1 000 eggs. They are covered with dead needles so they appear more noticeable in contrast to the green deciduous needles at this time. If you have small objects that can fit into a zip lock bag simply place the item in the bag and freeze it for a week to kill larvae and eggs. This is the best time to apply insecticides for bagworm control as feeding by these moths slow down by august.

Dispose of the contents of the vacuum bag immediately. The caterpillars use their. Bagworm control starts with understanding the worm itself. Bagworms are slow spreading because the female doesn t fly around.

Eggs start hatching from late may through early june. Freeze treatment is also an effective way to kill eggs. The actual worm or larva itself ranges in color from cream to brown and may be mottled with black spots.