What is eating my red maple?

[snocross1985]

My red maple in my yard is looking a bit lean. Not sure if I am concerned over nothing, but it seems late for it to have so few leaves for mid June. I went out tonight and there seemed to be some kind of bugs (beetles?) flying all around it. There are some caterpillars on the tree that I can see, too. Any thoughts? Seems I can only attach one pic from my iPad. I will post a pic of one of a leaf below.

 

[snocross1985]

The leaf here is representative of most leaves on the tree. Some are better, some are just about eaten away.

 

[billb3]

Looks like gypsy moth or Winter moth eating style.
They ( gypsy moth ) are so bad here this year they are eating pine trees and hemlocks now that the oak trees are totally defoliated.

If you stand under the tree you can probably hear the poop raining down.

 

[snocross1985]

I looked them up and the gypsy moth caterpillars are the ones I was seeing. I am assuming there is nothing I can do, or is there? Will the tree recover or will they destroy it? Damn bugs, this is my favorite tree on the property.

 

[Oldman47]

Control chemicals and discussion here http://learningstore.uwex.edu/assets/pdfs/FR-171D.pdf

 

[billb3]

I looked them up and the gypsy moth caterpillars are the ones I was seeing. I am assuming there is nothing I can do, or is there? Will the tree recover or will they destroy it? Damn bugs, this is my favorite tree on the property.

Most healthy trees can withstand a complete defoliation or two.

You can catch some travelling up and down the tree trunk by wrapping several inches with plastic or paper band and smearing Tanglefoot on the paper or plastic ( not on the tree itself ), but they also rappel by little string trying to catch some wind to find another tree.
Some towns spray.

 

[Charles1981]

Chemical: Demand CS

Application: Mist-blower - preferably Stihl SR450 or Solo451 ... basically leaf blowers altered to blow chemicals mixed in water.

I have 20 acres of mosquito infested land. I purchased a backpack mistblower for 700$ (stihl model) and the chemical costs about 100$ a quart.( I go through about 3 quarts a year treating my land and my neighbors land).

I don't spray the entire 20 acres just use it as a perimeter spray around the front and backyard areas (approximately 7 or so acres) only spraying foliage, under brush, under deck, fence line. Demand CS kills all.

It also is non-discriminate and kills honey bees, moths, basically all insect life that lands on it. Not great but when you got a problem. It works.

You can call around to local pest control places that spray for mosquitoes and have them do a treatment every month or two during the summers usualyl for a reasonal rate. If you aren't trying ot control mosquitoes I bet you can get away with every 2 month treatments...which would only be about 3 times a spring/summer season. Don't pay more than 75$ a treatment though.

I have to apply every 4 week and in a large amount. So it was actually worth while to purchase my own equipment seeing as I got 3 quotes for the year and everyone wanted anywhere from 1500$ to 3000$ for 8 treatments during sprin/summer and early autumn for mosquitoes...

 

[billb3]

I looked them up and the gypsy moth caterpillars are the ones I was seeing. I am assuming there is nothing I can do, or is there? Will the tree recover or will they destroy it? Damn bugs, this is my favorite tree on the property.

Iwas spraying all my fruit trees with BT and that works fairly well usually but they have to eat it and they've been coming in waves replacing the ones that ate the BT. I can't keep up with the BT so this morning I sprayed the really badly infested fruit trees and then the trees around the small orchard as well as I could this morning with Sevin. I now have thousands on the ground squirming.
I have nothing blooming even nearby so should impact bees minimally.