leaveless hedge

[kaz2611]

Hi I have a ? reguarding a hedge it appears that about 20 ft of the hedge has had all its leaves chewed off to the stem the rest of the hedge looks fine looks weird is this caused by some sort of bug or is the hedge dying and is there anything I can treat it with to bring it back or should I pull out the bad section and replace it?

[hotrod1]

possibly tent caterpillars. have you inspected for any bugs?

Try using Sevin on it. its a dust that you just sprinkle over the leaves.

[kaz2611]

didnt see any signs of them but its possible. I'll take a closer look and see if they are present thanks for the help

[Powerstroke]

LOts of different things. Are the leaves gone or did they fall off?

Insects would've eaten them, but unlikely they would've taken the whole thing. Tent catipillar is one of them. Most insects will only eat the green part and leave the stem and veins.

Some shrubs can get a rust disease or scab disease and the leaves start falling off this time of year. Nothing you can do about it this year, but if it is a fungal disease, the shrubs should recover next year and you can start a fungicide spraying program in the spring to prevent it. Its very easy.

[LwnmwnMan2]

If you have tent catepillars, two things.

First, most likely, they're already gone.

Second, you should have seen the "tent" or dense webbing they use in the spring. Chances are that MIGHT be there, but could very well be gone too.

If the leaves are totally gone, not just fallen to the ground, then something ate them.

Also, if it IS tent catepillars, they'll be easy to spot. You'll have clumps of them around, and they're about 2" long, yellow with a black line.

If the leaves were eaten, then the hedge SHOULD come back next year. You can check to make sure it's not dead by 2 ways.

Either break a piece of a branch off and if it snaps like a dead branch, then it's dead. If it wants to bend and not snap, then it's still alive.

Also, you can take a knife, or something 1/2 way sharp and peel the bark back and see if it's still green underneath. If it is, the hedge most likely will come back.

Again, if the leaves are totally gone, then something ate them. IF none of the branches are eaten either, then it was bugs. If some of the branches are eaten, then rabbits, deer, muskrat....

If the leaves are dead, on the ground, but the hedge branches are still alive, then fungus of some kind. If the branches are dead, then fungus or bug / beetle, but the hedge needs to be replaced.

[kaz2611]

Thqanks for the responses i didnt see any signs of tent catepillars but there are no leaves on the ground im sure that bugs ate them we powdered with 7 the length of hedge that still had its leaves. Once again thanks for the info and help it is much appreciated.