139
people found this helpful, as of 2023
ranked #217,177 most helpful
out of 571,544,897 reviews
★☆☆☆☆
Essential for healthy fruit trees - see important product update below
I manage a 100 tree orchard at our community garden in Southern California. We have been using Tanglefoot for over 4 years and it has become an essential product in keeping our trees healthy. Ants have a symbiotic relationship with leaf deforming insects. By keeping the ants out of the tree, natural predators are able to keep these pests in check so we don't need to rely very much on pesticides. Here are some helpful things we have learned:
To apply, use flagging ribbon found in most tool sections, the thicker, the better. Wrap the ribbon from bottom up, overlapping about half width then tuck the end under the previous row. If there are gaps between the tree and ribbon, fill with latex caulking. I apply the product using a 1" brush while wearing disposable food processing gloves.
Initially, check daily for ants breaching the barrier. Once the ants are eliminated from the tree, you can check less often. Sometimes it is necessary to scrape the dead ants off before re-applying. During periods of warm weather it is necessary to check more often as the product tends to dry out.
Some trees are more sensitive to banding and may develop a bulge in the trunk such as avocados, cherimoyas, and mangoes. So I move the band to a different part of the trunk every 3 to 4 months. On hard wood trees (apples, pears, stone fruits) I move the band about once a year or more frequently if the tree is still young and growing. I do not band trees until the diameter is over 3/4". If the trunk is not smooth enough, I place multiple bands on the primary limbs instead.
The difference in the health of the trees after we started using Tanglefoot has been impressive, especially on the citrus. We are constantly faced with new threats from imported pests and diseases. The best hope we have is to keep a healthy population of predatory insects that prey on the bad ones. To do that, you need to keep the ants out of the trees.
IMPORTANT PRODUCT UPDATE. Tanglefoot has changed and is now too runny. It seeps down off the barrier onto the bark then spreads underneath the barrier. It is damaging our citrus and semi-tropical trees bark. I am switching to Catchmaster which is less runny.
UPDATE 7-29-22. I have been using Catchmaster for 8 months and have inspected the trees after removing the bands. The difference can be seen in the last picture. Until the Scotts Company fixes the problem, I would urge gardeners to use another brand.
