Buck moth caterpillars?

[Victoria-nola]

Do chickens eat buck moth caterpillars? Are they endangered by buck moth caterpillars? I've been having good luck with spraying the trees with Bt, having fewer caterpillars every year. This year first time having chickens. Can't find anything in the archives on this, thought I'd seen it before.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I used to live in River Ridge. Those things seem to go in cycles, get really bad for a few years and then drop off to not too bad for a while. But they are always nasty when you run into one.

I don't know and I would be real relunctant to trust anyone over the internet without knowing their credentials. I suggest youi contact your parish extension agent or maybe the LSU Ag Department and ask them. This forum is great for many things, but for something this serious, I'd contact someone I could really trust.

With how common those things are down there and knowing that some people free range chickens in Harahan and River Ridge, I'd think they would be OK, but I really don't know and may be advising you the wrong way. I really don't know.

 

[Victoria-nola]

Thanks for the info, Ridgerunner (love your sig lines).

I thought I'd seen someone on here who said their chickens did eat the caterpillars. I hope someone else sees this who has experience with these horrible creatures!

I'm leaving town for a couple weeks, and worrying that the caterpillars will start falling while I'm gone and not be here to tend to things. Have chicken sitter, but they are not competent to deal with the buck beasts.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I find one of those icky things on my blackberry bushes occasionally, which my chickens often pick through as well. They avoid them like the plague, and with all of those spines, I don't blame them one bit! I don't touch them either (and I really hope we're talking about the same caterpillar, lol).

 

[Victoria-nola]

Here's a picture of one. There are of course many stinging caterpillars in the world but the thing about this one is the thousands of caterpillars that all hatch at once.

 

[ponyup]

oh that is awful looking!

 

[Victoria-nola]

Ah ok, so yours don't eat them. I'm going to go ahead and spray the Bt even tho it's a bit early. Oh-- and I just realized that the person who is watering my garden can be charged with spraying more Bt if they start to show up.