Apply Tanglefoot to Fruit Tree Trunks for Ant and Crawling Insect Control. 5.3.15

Tanglefoot and polyethylene strips.  5.3.15

 This is a good time of year to apply Tanglefoot to fruit tree trunks.  It's  well in advance of fruit ripening, but after most of the Spring rains.

For figs, the Tanglefoot prevents ants from climbing the trunk and entering ripe figs.  Without the Tanglefoot, my figs invariably have some added crunch, that seems to move around on the tongue.  In addition to being odd, infection by ants also seems to cause mold spoilage of the figs before they fully ripen.  I suspect the ants carry mold spores.

For cherries, Tanglefoot prevents black aphids.  My theory there is ants farm the aphids.  Either that or, the black aphids climb the trunk themselves.  Whatever the case, the Tanglefoot prevents them.

I also apply to apples, pears, and peaches.  The treatment does not stop problems caused by flying insects, but does stop problems caused by tree-climbing insects.

I don't know that tanglefoot applied directly to the trunk is harmful.  It is messy, sticky, and next to impossible to remove.  I wrap tightly with 6-inch-wide strips of light-weight polyethylene.  The strips are cut from disposable grocery store bags.  They are too flimsy to girdle the trunk.  I wrap twice, then tie with a square knot.  Then apply Tanglefoot, squeezing a strip from the tube like toothpaste, and spread on the plastic wrapping using a disposable plastic spoon. 

Being very cheap, I save the plastic spoons from my work place lunch.  I usually take my own flatware, but sometimes forget.

Wrapping fig tree trunk.  5.3.15

During the winter, I remove the Tanglefoot.   By then, it is covered with dust, dirt, plant material, and ineffective at stopping insects.   The polyethylene bags are flimsy enough, to simply pull off the tree trunks.

Alternatively, one could apply sticky plastic tape, sticky-side out.  I would not use duct-tape, which is too tough and might girdle the tree.

Tree protected with Tanglefoot.  5.3.15

Prevention of aphids and fig spoilage with Tanglefoot

Two major problems can be prevented if I am diligent now. When the figs start to ripen, ants enter the fruits. The originally sterile fig then develops infection with fungus and bacteria that the ant carries. This is the plant version of an STD. The figs spoil. If they don't spoil, the presence of the ants, inside the figs, adds an interesting sensation to the tongue when I bite into the fig. Crunchy, with a slight tang, not entirely bad. But odd.

Cherry trees develop debilitating cherry aphids in the summer, carried onto the leaves by ants. Without the ants, the aphids don't occur. I read that ants farm, using aphids as their "cows".

Both issues are prevented by a ring of Tanglefoot. Tanglefoot is a very very gooey sticky substance that, once applied, doesn't go away. Ants can't crawl across tanglefoot, and don't even try. It repels them. I place a collar of stretchy plastic on the bark first. I cut plastic baggies into strips, then tie around the tree. This makes a collar to appy tanglefoot. Without the collar, the tanglefoot would remain on the bark, and after a year is a sticky mess but has enough debris attached that ants can crawl over it. Each Spring I remove the old collars. Now is time to replace.

This is all that's needed. Strips of plastic, a disposable spoon, knife or fork, and the Tanglefoot. It's impossible to remove Tanglefoot from a nondisposable tool, so I use plastic.

Up close. This is a fig tree.

At a distance. The collar is not unsightly, it can barely be seen.

Aphids also infest apples, pears, and peaches via ant farming practices. They are next. When I do this ground level work then stand up, it makes me dizzy. I can do a half dozen at a time.

Any weeds or grass that can create "bridges" for the ants are pulled.