Bagworms are often found on evergreen plants such as juniper and cypress. They weave a cocoon that incorporates bits of surrounding foliage and are almost perfectly camouflaged. As those bits begin to die, they turn brown and stand out among the green surroundings. The earlier they are discovered, the better. The cocoons’ season usually begins in May and ends late June. The cocoon is surprisingly tough and pretty much has to be cut open in order to get the grub inside.

So, next season if you notice these cocoons in your trees or bushes, don’t think “pests”, think “bait”. Click HERE to see the online video.

The chain of events began last month when I heard that WXII Channel 12 Weather Man and Producer of “Austin Outdoors” segment, Austin Caviness, would be appearing in my area at a local YMCA while participating in a program called “Transformation Nation”. I felt that my bushcraft and survival skills would be of interest to his audience so I attended the event with the purpose of introducing myself and my website to Austin for his consideration. He was in fact interested and asked me to contact him later so that we could discuss details. Actually connecting with such a busy person is not always immediate, but my persistent calls finally paid off and this week when we finally connected we worked out plans to get together in Winston Salem the following day.

In preparation for any possible subject or demonstration my vehicle was “loaded for bear”, jammed with equipment, kits, and firewood. We met at the WXII television station and traveled a short distance to a park where we video taped the contents of the 2 minute segment “Living Off The Land“. The videographer Jeff did a great job capturing the event and Austin is a great sport and willing to try new things. Having done industrial video in earlier years, I can really appreciate the fine job that they did in creating the segment and the seamless editing. Now, we just have to work on my last name…