The Tropical Fruit Forum
Citrus => Citrus General Discussion => Topic started by: brian on February 25, 2021, 01:43:38 PM
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I finally got around to doing this. I just applied tanglefoot directly to the bark of a healthy 6ft-tall tree. I applied it to a major limb (>1in diameter) and a small twig nearby. I will see if there is any deterioration over time.
If there is none... tanglefoot becomes much more useful to me. It is a pain to put tape or some other backing for it to prevent it from touching the bark. If it is harmless I can slap it all over.
(https://i.imgur.com/iWd4UcE.jpg)
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I finally got around to doing this. I just applied tanglefoot directly to the bark of a healthy 6ft-tall tree. I applied it to a major limb (>1in diameter) and a small twig nearby. I will see if there is any deterioration over time.
If there is none... tanglefoot becomes much more useful to me. It is a pain to put tape or some other backing for it to prevent it from touching the bark. If it is harmless I can slap it all over.
(https://i.imgur.com/iWd4UcE.jpg)
It will take longer to grow from the area you applied than to apply a wrapping of simple duct tape. But thats just me. I value my trees too much to do this to them, especially the productive ones.
I have to reapply to my Inga this spring. It shouldnt take more than 5 minutes. BTW, good luck with your trees.
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duct tape would almost certainly constrict the trees growth if not removed after some time, it is very strong. Even when I used painters tape I had this issue.
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Tanglefoot against citrus bark will likely cause bark rot. Keep us informed.
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Yup, this tree is expendable - I am going to dig it up soon anyway. I wanted to see for myself just how it worked out.
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I think the biggest benefit of having a backing is that you can remove the fouled tanglefoot and replace it. In my yard it gets gunked up with dirt, grass clippings, and dead bugs after a month or so. Sometimes I’ll put new tanglefoot over the old but I can’t do that more than once without making a huge mess.
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Brian, have you considered the "one side sticky" tape we use to trap the Spotted Lanternfly? The inside has no adhesive, so it shouldn't harm the bark. The outer adhesive is very tacky and should trap most crawling pests. https://www.idealtruevalue.com/store/p/158164-Catchmaster-30-Giant-Fly-Glue-Trap-1-Sided-Adhesive-Features-Pre-Bait.aspx?feed=Froogle&gclid=Cj0KCQiAst2BBhDJARIsAGo2ldVdGo3Y9zADH44bb95yrDoIKp3te7l4aRgB3VHeugsIc6x4AaYGsKAaAgkNEALw_wcB (https://www.idealtruevalue.com/store/p/158164-Catchmaster-30-Giant-Fly-Glue-Trap-1-Sided-Adhesive-Features-Pre-Bait.aspx?feed=Froogle&gclid=Cj0KCQiAst2BBhDJARIsAGo2ldVdGo3Y9zADH44bb95yrDoIKp3te7l4aRgB3VHeugsIc6x4AaYGsKAaAgkNEALw_wcB)
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The cost and effort matters a lot to me when I'm potentially applying tanglefoot to a hundred plants. Even applying tape around trunk is a bit fiddley when I have to crawl under the tree and get poked with thorns and such.
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If you have the same results as me, it will rot. That section will stay moist and rot.
I just triple roll the orange flagging tape and tie it in a knot. Takes 15 seconds and then I slather the stuff on. It's good for about 4 months until another fresh batch is needed.
Good luck!
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stretchy flagging tape is a good idea. I actually have some already, might try that next time if this fails (as seems to be expected)
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I am going to use newspaper plastic bag strips and tat flypaper wrapped around the tree trunk
..
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Is the purpose of using tangle foot to keep ants from crawling up the trees? Are there other insects that crawl up citrus to worry about? The few times I used tangle foot directly on hardwoods trees, it didn't hurt the tree but it made a nasty gummy dirt band that was impossible to remove even a year later when it was no longer effective.
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Ants yes, but also any other climbing scale. I have issues with mealybugs and sometimes armored scale that I can't seem to eradicate by spraying
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Mealybug is my biggest insect problem. Scale is second. With constant inspection, and horticultural oil, they can be kept at a minimum. Almost never at 0 percent.
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I have been so hopeful since I eradicated my long-running cottony-cusion-scale problem that I might be able to get rid of the mealybugs also. So far they have been very resilient, the neurotoxic pesticides don't seem to work well on them, and coverage with smothering agents is always tough.
The armored scale have been pretty isolated, not sure why. I haven't seen them on my citrus trees yet, only a few other tropical fruit trees.
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I had to check up what tanglefoot is in the US.
Here in England it is a very nice beer!
(https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/shopping?q=tbn:ANd9GcTxtpHS6B82RBRP71tyomDgCXswnl3luNnkvavIvJlD_mmM_noCWLBN3PW0zfzbK1lBjKJVKgv5d1A&usqp=CAc)
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two months later it still looks exactly the same with zero harm to the tree (nor the plumeria I also put it on)
Still, really need to see how it performs after a year or two, and I might cut this tree down before then.
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That's good news. Has this tree been outside for a while? I recall, the hot San Diego summer took it's toll and eventually degraded that cambium layer.
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My in-ground trees are in a greenhouse and the area with tanglefoot applied is generally shaded by the tree canopy. You might get different results in hot direct sun!
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EDIT - DO NOT DO THIS - see update below
so even though the "raw tanglefoot" experiment is going well so far I am playing it safe and using trunk protection when applying tanglefoot for the rest of my trees for now, as I found a really good wrap that is stretchy and self-sticky. Actually, another forum member discovered it and is using it to wrap seedlings. It is sold as a type of gauze.
(https://i.postimg.cc/G9DmX7c4/fukushu-tanglefoot-band.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/G9DmX7c4)
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[snip] I found a really good wrap that is stretchy and self-sticky. Actually, another forum member discovered it and is using it to wrap seedlings. It is sold as a type of gauze.
That sounds like CoFlex, a stretchy sort of rubberized gauze bandaging wrap that is used in compression wraps on human extremities and also on horses' ankles (which is what it was invented for: for racehorses' ankle support). It does stick to itself.
Sounds like it will serve well as a substrate for putting Tanglefoot on top of.
CoFlex should be available at medical supply houses, Amazon, or some local pharmacies.
Cheers!
Paul M.
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i have ants harvesting mealybugs and what not on a persimmon tree. always wanted to try this but persimmon trunk and branches don't have smooth surfaces like citrus. anyone use this on non-smooth bark?
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I was considering using Tanglefoot to seal the stump after bark inlay grafting.
Based on this thread that sounds like a recipe for rotting out the rootstock?
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Update - do not use "coflex" / rubber-stretch-gauze for this! after a few days the tanglefoot was absorbed into the gauze material, causing it to lose stickiness and unwind, and the tanglefoot soaked through to the bark. So now I have direct tanglefoot on all my tree trunks. I guess I am now "all in" on this experiment.
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:( sorry to hear
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Update - do not use "coflex" / rubber-stretch-gauze for this! after a few days the tanglefoot was absorbed into the gauze material, causing it to lose stickiness and unwind, and the tanglefoot soaked through to the bark. So now I have direct tanglefoot on all my tree trunks. I guess I am now "all in" on this experiment.
Wow, the CoFlex sounded promising but not a compatible option with the tanglefoot, after all.
That's really too bad.
Later,
Paul M.
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I always have ants and snail problems. Based on the discussion here, I tried two items below: paint tape, and Vaseline, both purchased from dollar store.
The paint tape is applied with the non-sticky side toward the tree bark. Then smear the Vaseline to the tape. By this way, the vaseline has no contact with the bark. It seems that the ant trail stopped for now. The Vaseline may have to be reapplied once awhile when the dust accumulates that ants can walk over. If the the paint tape gets too tight due the tree trunk expands, I will have to cut the tape and reapply the Vaseline.
(https://i.postimg.cc/5HB8FJg6/3-M-200-Scotch-Paint-Masking-Tape-Natural-2inchx60-Yards-1000px.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/5HB8FJg6)
(https://i.postimg.cc/LhCLPNtB/images.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/LhCLPNtB)
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Update - do not use "coflex" / rubber-stretch-gauze for this! after a few days the tanglefoot was absorbed into the gauze material, causing it to lose stickiness and unwind, and the tanglefoot soaked through to the bark. So now I have direct tanglefoot on all my tree trunks. I guess I am now "all in" on this experiment.
Oh no :( Can you remove the tanglefoot from the bark? i did a quick search, seems like mineral spirits or other degreasers would work, but I'd be concerned about it hurting the tree.
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Not wanting to lead you down yet another wrong path, I personally would try to remove the Tanglefoot with a fairly benign vegetable oil, such as olive oil, then wash it off using dilute soapy water, finally rinsing/flushing with straight water. I use this process to remove dirty grease from my hands. The process continually progresses from more harmful to less harmful. I would try to keep the affected area as small as possible, perhaps, with the use of a masking tape boundary. However, avoid peeling off the bark when removing the tape!
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It has been seven and a half months. Today I removed the tree to replace it with a Shasta Gold. Here are the final pictures of the tanglefoot area. You'll see that the tree was totally unharmed by it - neither the small green twig nor the main limb had any damage and kept growing normally. The tanglefoot had become blackened, but when I wiped it off a bit you can see the bark underneath looks fine.
None of the other trees had any issues either. I think it is pretty safe to say that applying tanglefoot directly to trunks is fine.
(https://i.postimg.cc/vgpMX4yK/tanglefoot1.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/vgpMX4yK)
(https://i.postimg.cc/kRKCH7Xg/tanglefoot2.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/kRKCH7Xg)
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-Do you feet the tangle foot server its purpose? I never felt it was that much help, but then most of my insect problems are from flyers.
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Been meaning to reply to this thread. I've done this for a few years on jaboticaba with no ill effects, but i did it on an avocado last year and it ended up burning a stripe on the tree and probably will kill it. Trying a bridge graft to save it, but not optimistic.
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Tanglefoot works great against ants, but is useless at stopping mealybug and spider mites. I was thinking maybe they were re-infesting from the ground after I sprayed the trees, but they must be coming from eggs in the trees because I never saw any stuck in the tanglefoot.
Shaneatwell, glad you reported your experience. Despite the seeming safety of this I am still a bit wary of trying it on other species.
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Local and short-distance dispersal of mealybugs is facilitated by air currents, ant movements, farm labourers and farm implements. Long-range dispersal/movement of mealybugs is usually accomplished by transport of infested plant material.
Spider mites would do the same.
Tanglefoot works great against ants, but is useless at stopping mealybug and spider mites. I was thinking maybe they were re-infesting from the ground after I sprayed the trees, but they must be coming from eggs in the trees because I never saw any stuck in the tanglefoot.
Shaneatwell, glad you reported your experience. Despite the seeming safety of this I am still a bit wary of trying it on other species.
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Brian is write that survey flagging is easy and stretches with tree growth. if the bark is roughly furrowed you can fare it out with acrylic caulk and let dry before applying flagging tape. will not harm tree