Ask Burton: This week, a quick rundown on webworms and bagworms, because it’s time, and people often confuse them.

Webworms feed on the leaves of a variety of trees, generally worst on pecans, sweetgums, mulberries, and redbuds. You’ll see large webs in the trees, generally wrapped around branch tips, and close inspection will show hundreds of the critters within that webbing. Prune out badly webbed tips and branches, tear the webs, which are not practical to prune, to expose the caterpillars to predators, and spray as high up in the tree as you can with a spinosad spray.

Bagworms are the individual caterpillars which feed primarily on the leaves of junipers, cedars, roses, and Indian hawthorn. They started feeding around Memorial Day, so if your plant is infested, it’s probably looking quite damaged right about now. Treat with a spinosad-based insecticide immediately, because once they finish feeding and tie off, your chance to get rid of them is done until next year. If you had a bad infestation of this insect this season, spray next Memorial Day, sight unseen, with spinosad, and head off the damage while it’s minimal.

Spinosad is an organic pesticide which is low toxicity, unlikely to harm beneficial insects, and effective. Other insecticides will also work; just take care when spraying a more poisonous material above your head. What goes up must come down, somewhere.