20 FARMERS' BULLETIN 928. 



is not recommended in view of the more positive method of destroy- 

 ing the ants by trapping. When used on a large scale, even the best 

 bands of this sort will need more or less frequent inspection and 

 renewal or respreading. Although the first cost of banding pos- 

 sibly might be less than that of installing traps, the cost of permanent 

 maintenance would exceed the cost of trapping, and under present 

 conditions. would not be justified by the increased crop returns. Tree 

 banding would cost more in Louisiana than in California, as in most 

 cases an average of three' bands would be required for every orange 

 tree banded in Louisiana, owing to the growth habit of the trees. 

 Furthermore, such barriers do not reduce the ant population, and 

 therefore can not be considered a positive means of control. In 

 Louisiana, therefore, the chief use of these mixtures will be found 

 in protecting yard trees and beehives from the ant and in keeping 

 it out of food supplies, beds, etc., in the house. 



The most effective adhesive type of banding mixture, determined 

 from much testing of various materials and combinations of them, 

 is composed of 1 part by weight of flowers of sulphur to 6 parts of 

 commercial tree adhesive. All the lumps in the sulphur should be 

 broken and the tAvo ingredients mixed thoroughly together without 

 heating, a wooden paddle serving this purpose. The sulphur not 

 only keeps the adhesive soft, but also has a sufficiently repellent 

 effect upon the ants to prevent their bridging the bands with bits 

 of trash or their own bodies. 



Bands of this material will remain effective in rainy, foggy, or 

 exceptionally dry weather for from three to five months, and in the 

 cool weather of fall and winter as long as the ants are able to forage 

 out of doors. If directly exposed to the sun for long periods, however, 

 the surface of the bands becomes hard enough for the ants to cross. The 

 bands, therefore, must be applied where the shade of the tree will 

 protect them. The trees must be pruned so that branches will not 

 touch the ground, and weeds must be prevented from touching the 

 tree above the bands and allowing the ants to cross. The mixture 

 should not be applied directly to the bark, as it would be absorbed 

 to some extent and in time might injure the tree. First the trunk 

 should be wrapped snugly with tire or hose-mending tape for a 

 space about 6 inches wide, and then the adhesive should be applied 

 over this in a band about 4 inches wide and one-fourth inch thick. 



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