Definition of quest for Students. 1  1 : an effort to find or do something a quest for answers. 2  2 : a usually adventurous journey made in search of something a quest for lost treasure.
Tree caterpillar nests look like silken bags hanging in branches. You can either remove each nest by cutting the silken string at its top and then dropping the entire nest in soapy water or tear the nest open with a stick and let birds prey on the caterpillars inside. The pests feed during the day when the sun shines.
Removing by Hand. If small trees have just a few caterpillars, the simplest method of removing the caterpillars is to pluck off the pests by hand. You can mash them between your fingers or step on them to kill them, but that is not a job for a person with a weak stomach. A much cleaner option is to drop the caterpillars in a bucket of soapy water. The pests will die on contact with the solution.