While traveling the highways and byways of Tioga County, you may have seen an ugly, unsightly web hanging from tree branches. You see them a few at a time, and then they seem to multiply and cover a large area of our beautiful, rolling hills.

A telephone conversation with Brian Caldwell at the Cooperative Extension Office of Cornell University was educational and set my mind at ease that our hills will not become barren. He identified the webs as belonging to the Fall Webworm, the scientific name is Hyphantria cunea. The fall webworms are seldom numerous enough to cause total defoliation, and hopefully next year won't get any worse than this year. They appear in late summer and the nests don't do much damage to the trees because the leaves have already completed most of their function for the tree.

One way the individual homeowner can control the fall webworm is to find a spray with the active ingredient B.t., Bacillus thuringiensis. This is a biological insecticide and is low in toxicity to mammals. Ask your local garden center such as Agway to help you find this spray and learn how and when to spray the nest to kill the larvae.

So the next time you see this ugly sight hanging from the trees, you will know that the invasion is short lived and we again appreciate the beautiful and lush green hills of Tioga County.