Those nasty tent worms are now forming in many trees. They feed on the leaves and just look messy. If left alone, little harm is done to the tree. It is late enough in the growing season that even if the tree leaves were totally gone, the tree would likely re-leaf fine next year.
If you find tent worms in your ornamental trees in the landscape and they are low enough to reach, there are ways to get rid of them. The best way is to put on a pair of work gloves and pull the nest off. Make sure to get all the worms off that you can and destroy them. Or, if you want to try a different method, some people put gasoline on them and burn them off. This is fun but be careful!!!
By they way, this is prime time for lawn seeding. If you need to patch up any areas, try to do it in the next couple of weeks.
