Sask. sees shortage of sticky Tanglefoot that wards off cankerworms

A particular brand of sticky goop that helps rid trees of cankerworms will be hard to come by this year.

Rick Vanduyvendyk, owner of Dutch Growers Garden Centre in Saskatoon, said Tanglefoot will no longer be stocked at his store — a trend that is making its way across the province. 

 The producer of the substance went out of business, he said.

What is Tanglefoot?

The banding substance is used to stop adult female moths from climbing up trees, mating and laying eggs that turn into leaf-eating cankerworm larvae.

"[The moth] gets caught on the sticky stuff and it can't go anywhere," he explained. "It just dies there and doesn't put all the eggs at the top of the trees where [the worms] can eat all the leaves."

Serious cankerworm infestations are cyclical and happen every seven years or so. The insects travel up trees in the fall and then again around the end of April.

Tanglefoot alternatives

Despite the shortage of Tanglefoot, Vanduyvendyk said there are alternatives that work just as well.

"Any kind of item that would be sticky enough that the moth will actually get stuck to it — that`ll do the trick," he said.

He suggested using maple syrup, but advised people to stay away from axle grease.