All the members of the walking stick order (Phasmatodea) are plant feeders, and they can occasionally cause damage to urban landscape plants. Many times walking sticks only become common late in the season, before leaf fall. At this time of year, defoliation rarely causes any damage to the health of the plant. Damage that occurs to woody plants in the spring or summer may warrant some sort of control measure like hand picking, or an insecticide application. Although walking sticks are not listed as target pests on most insecticide labels, a broad spectrum insecticide, like permethrin, should control walking sticks.

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