Webworms - will they eat em?

[DoverChick]

We have a very large black walnut tree that has webworms all over it. Last year we had the tree sprayed, but since we have the chickens this year, I wasn't too keen on doing that again with the chemicals involved. Right now the worms are still in their webs and just leaving droppings (yuk!), but pretty soon they will start falling out of the tree. When they do this, they always seem to head straight for our front door (weird huh?)

Anyway, I'm hoping the chickens will make a feast out of these little buggers! Anyone else have any experience with this?

Crossing my fingers we have natural cure to our problem!

thanks!~

 

[darkmatter]

My chickens seem to eat every bug except the hairy fuzzy caterpillars.

 

[DoverChick]

They are a little fuzzy. Not too fuzzy though... Oh-man I hope they still eat them! I hate these little things!

 

[lowry075]

What....is a webworm? It sounds super gross.

 

[DoverChick]

I don't know where everyone else lives, but here in PA we get these webs that form in trees (just looks like a cluster spider web...) The worms that develop look pretty much just like a small caterpillar. They feed off of the leaves of certain trees as they are growing in the webs. I've heard them called other things, but I can't remember what right now.

 

[erinlee]

They are tent caterpillars. I tried to feed some to my chickens last year, they wouldn't touch them. Haven't seen any around this year (thank goodness) so I haven't tried them again.

 

[Squirrelgirl88]

nope - apparantly even a chicken draws the line somewhere - mine won't touch the little buggers.

 

[DoverChick]

Awwww man! Well, maybe I'll find that my little girls and guys will be different and love them!

 

[Kassaundra]

We get them in OK too, but this year hasn't been bad. We have had record setting heat and drought so maybe that is why we didn't get them this year. I hate those nasty things too!!!!! My girls will eat roly poly's and stink (squash) bugs and I've seen several posters say their chickens won't eat those, so maybe yours will too.

 

[Insaneinnixa]

They are tent caterpillars. I tried to feed some to my chickens last year, they wouldn't touch them. Haven't seen any around this year (thank goodness) so I haven't tried them again.

Tent caterpillars and webworms are actually 2 different pests. Tent caterpillars build their webs in the crotch of the branches. Webworms build their webs out on the end's where the foliage is.