05/23/2026
Those little brown ornaments hanging from your arborvitae aren't pinecones or dead leaves. They're bagworm cases — and each one is full of eggs about to hatch.
The bags are tough to spot because the caterpillars build them from the needles and twigs of the tree they're feeding on. The camouflage is nearly perfect. By the time you notice the browning, a heavy infestation has already thinned the foliage — and evergreens don't grow back needles the way deciduous trees replace leaves.
The best time to remove them is now, while the eggs are still inside the bags and before hatching begins.
🌿 Where to look this weekend:
- Inner and outer branches of arborvitae, juniper, pine, and spruce — check the interior of the hedge where bags are hardest to see from a distance
- Broadleaf trees nearby — maple, oak, and sycamore can host them too, though the damage is less severe because the leaves regrow
- Chain-link fences and brick walls near affected trees — caterpillars sometimes migrate and anchor bags to structures
- Look for a teardrop-shaped pod roughly the size of a thumb, woven from dead needles and hanging by a silk thread
🌱 How to remove them:
- Hand-pick or snip each bag from the branch — don't just drop them on the ground, the eggs can still hatch from a fallen bag
- Remove the silk band wrapped around the twig where the bag was attached — left in place, it can girdle the twig and restrict new growth
- Drop the bags into a bucket of soapy water and let them soak for a couple of days before discarding
- Check the entire hedge, not just the outer face. Bags on interior branches are the ones most people miss — and the ones that do the most damage next season
One pass through the hedge this weekend catches them before they hatch. The bags are easy to remove by hand. The caterpillars that emerge from them aren't 🌿
