What are those “sticky bands” I see wrapped around tree trunks? Do they control Dutch elm disease?
A. They are tanglefoot bands that prevent spring and fall cankerworm wingless female moths from crawling up the tree trunk to lay eggs. Cankerworm feeding can cause severe defoliation which stresses and weakens trees. Reducing the stress on trees makes them less attractive to elm bark beetles. Tanglefoot bands may also play an incidental role in trapping a few bark beetles.
