GIPSY MOTH AND BROWN-TAIL MOTH. 15 



foliage should be treated thorougldy, particularly the terminal shoots, 

 and as much care as possible should be exercised not to cover the 

 fruit. Late fall or winter varieties of fruit may be sprayed in 

 August witli arsenate of lead, using 6 pounds to 100 gallons of water, 

 and although an occasional spot may be found on the fruit at the 

 time of picking, no injury will result from it. In cases where only 

 a few choice fruit trees are sprayed it is practicable to wipe the fruit 

 before packing for sale; but this will not be necessary if care is taken 

 to treat the terminal growth of the trees, as this is where the bulk of 

 the egg clusters is deposited. 



GENERAL HAND METHODS FOR CONTROLLING THE GIPSY MOTH. 



Creosote. — One of the best methods of controlling the gipsy moth 

 is to treat the egg clusters of the insect between August 1 and April 1 

 with creosote, to which a small amount of lampblack has been added. 

 This material is sold by dealers in the infested region under the 

 name of gipsy-moth creosote. It is applied with a brush, and 

 leaves a black residue on the clusters treated. Creosote may be 

 obtained in small quantities from nearly aU the large hardware or 

 seed stores in the infested district. 



Burlap hands. — Gipsy-moth caterpillars usually seek shelter during 

 hot, sunny days, and if a band of burlap is attached to a tree, large 

 numbers of them will crawl beneath it, where they may be crushed 

 each day. Ordinarily a strip of burlap about 8 inches wide is placed 

 loosely around a tree trunk and a piece of twine passed around the 

 center and tied to hold it in place. After this is done the top part 

 of the burlap is folded down so that a double shelter is made beneath 

 it. The use of burlap bands has been discontinued during the last 

 few years, owing to the expense involved and because of the fact 

 that if the burlaps are applied early in the season, before the brown- 

 tail caterpillars have pupated, an excellent place is furnished for these 

 poisonous caterpillars to make their cocoons (see fig. 7), and severe 

 poisoning results to the workmen. If this method is to be used at 

 all, the burlap should not be attached to the trees until after June 15, 

 when most of the brown-tail moth caterpillars will have pupated. 



Sticky hands. — Bands of a widely known sticky substance for use 

 in banding trees, which may be obtained on the market, may be 

 used on tree trunks after the bark has been scraped so that the ma- 

 terial can be applied evenly in a thin layer with a paddle. The pur- 

 pose of this band is to prevent cater])illars from ascending the trees, 

 and if the egg clusters previously have been treated, this is a very 

 effective measure. It is necessary every week or 10 days during the 

 caterpillar season to run a comb or other similar implement around 

 the band in order to prevent hardening of the surface and to bring up 

 fresh, sticky material from the part of the band near the bark. (See 



