Bagworms

The tree wizards found a blue atlas cedar infested with bagworms in south eastern Norman. 

These pests can do a lot of damage to trees in the cedar family in this area.

Bagworms often show up around late summer, and can sometimes be controlled by simply picking off their bags and burning them. Make sure not to just throw them in the yard, because the female bagworm and her eggs will survive through the winter, crawl back to the tree and reproduce! 

Note the discoloration of the bags. They usually hang below the limb and can be dime-sized or larger like this one.

It is important not to ignore this problem because bagworms can defoliate a tree and after a while will cause the tree stress, making it more susceptible to other diseases and environmental factors. 

Bagworms are gross.