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Show Leaf roller attack Box elder trees Box elder trees in the county are being defoliated by an insect known as the box elder leaf roller. These small, green worms tie leaves together in a roll and then feed inside the roll. Damaged leaves have a ragged, tattered appearance. ap-pearance. Leafroller larvae can also damage gamble oak, raspberry and birch. Box elder leafrollers are the larvae lar-vae of a gray to brown colored moth and are not related to box elder bugs. Box elder bugs are black with distinctive red bands. Box elder bugs do not usually cause significant signifi-cant damage to trees, but can be a real nuisance around the home in the fall. Box elder trees which have been heavily damaged by box elder leafrollers appear light yellow or white from a distance. Box elder trees are capable of producing a second se-cond set of leaves if the first set is removed. Trees that are defoliated now may appear normal by the end of the summer. Repeated yearly defoliation can damage the tree. To control box elder leafrollers, the following sprays are suggested by Jay Karren, USU Extension Entomologist: En-tomologist: malathion, diazinon, Dursban, Orthene, Imidan, Sevin, Dipel or Thuricide. Young trees in particular should be sprayed to prevent extensive damage. |