Why would tanglefoot keep the cankerworms from feeding on the trees?
The female fall cankerworm crawls up into the trees to lay her eggs just after the first frost in the fall. Since she can’t fly and must climb the trunk to get up into the tree a barrier of tanglefoot will prevent this from happening. How is the tanglefoot applied to the tree trunk? It’s best to smooth down the ridges of bark before applying the tanglefoot. The band of tanglefoot should be 4-6 inches wide, 1/16 of an inch thick and 5-6 feet above ground. When smoothing down the bark be careful not to damage the live bark underneath. Apply a continuous band of tanglefoot to the scraped bark using a putty knife or old paint brush. How often should the tanglefoot be applied? After the initial application you should add more tanglefoot in the spring just after the ground thaws out and about Labor Day in the fall if the tanglefoot has lost its stickiness. Forest Tent Caterpillar Are they similar in appearance to the cankerworms? They are both caterpillars, but fairly easy to tell apart. The
