ninat
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Help- willow being attacked by caterpillarsWe planted 200 willow sticks this year.
The idea is to use these to provide us with cuttings which we would plant up on a 4 year cycle for coppicing.
They have all sprouted but they have been ravaged by green caterpillars 
Some have been eaten right back to the stump. I've been picking off as many as I can but it's not practical to do this every day.
I was reluctant to use any kind of spray but to be honest I no longer care- the future of our firewood seems to be at stake!
Any suggestions???
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judith
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We had an infestation of caterpillars on our willow one year. The trees were a couple of years old and thus quite well-established by then. They looked very sad for a while, but they all survived and came back again.
With any luck, yours will cope with being eaten too as long as there are a few buds left on the sticks - it is pretty difficult to kill willow if it likes its growing conditions.
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ninat
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Thanks Judith,
These are planted in a really boggy area with lots of silverbirch and older willow around so they should thrive.
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towerhill
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If they are killing your plants. And you have spent a lot of money on them. And you need to have the plants.... Spray them!.
It's probably a one off. You not going to eat the willow.
Just spray them and feed them. it might not be the "green" thing to do. Start with a basic washing up liquid based mix. If they don't fall off then move up the scale to DTD 
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spoonranger
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I have a small corkscrew willow in my front garden and exactly the same thing is happening to it right now. There are thousands of them! I sprayed them with washing up liquid solution and whilst they are still alive and on the tree, they seem to have stopped eating it.
I wonder if they will eventually drop off and die or whether after the rain washes off the washing up liquid they'll be back munching?
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goosey
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You will have to wait and see; but if they don't die, they will turn into pupae and eventually something with wings, and fly away.
The willow will grow more leaves and be fine.
Oak trees have similar episodes, and can grow a complete new set of leaves after midsummer. It is a natural process.
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goosey
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Incidentally, the sudden boom in tree catterpillar populations,
co-incides with baby birds hatching.
They are important food, which tits especially, need to feed their young 
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