The war against chenilles

[Kathy]

Now not sure whether this will work but have been told that if you put adhesive bands covered in glue around the trunk of the tree then the caterpillars cannot come down the tree and accumulate just above it. These bands are the ones you buy to stop pests on fruit trees. They are expensive in France but I have found some here for a fraction of the cost.
I would prefer to put them on when the moths lay their eggs so when the caterpillars hatch they cannot ascend up the tree but if I do this and the moths lay high up I will miss some. I may have to do it twice Summer and next Feb when they come down to find refuge in the ground. If it works it is a better option than sacrificing the tree. Will report back.

[sue and paul]

I have suffered with these evil pests. The sticky bands are probably a good idea, but I HAVE read that once one or two caterpillars get stuck and die there, others have been known to use their mates as a 'bridge' and carry on regardless!! I do think that doing something is better than doing nothing. Last year we had the trees chemically treated, which destroyed the nests, but the caterpillars lived longer than we expected...more than 10 days later, I was still 'got' by the hairs on them. We have halved the height of all our pine trees recently, so that we (him indoors) can get up what's left of the trees to cut off branches with next year's nests, and burn them straight away. C'est la guerre

[Roger O]

They seem to be limited to umbrella pines. Anyone had any problems with other types of tree??