62 



THE REPORT OF THE 



No. 36 



can be readily taken apart. Those portions of the lumber that enter the ground 

 are tarred. A band of tanglefoot is smeared along the upper edge. Since the 

 wood absorbs a certain amount of the tanglefoot it is a good plan to give the 

 upper two inches a coat of paint and if cedar lumber is used this is essential. 

 On the sides chiefly exposed to the sun it has been found a good plan to place 

 an overlap of half inch by four inch wood. Staples are driven into the edge of 

 the overlap and other staples passed through them and then driven into the top 

 of the barrier, thus forming a hinge so that the overlap can be raised when the 

 sticky band requires attention. One or two nails are driven through the tangle- 

 foot to keep the overlap from touching. It was found that a band protected 

 in this way lasted three times as long as one without, as the effect of exposure 

 to the direct rays of the sun is to dry out the tanglefoot. About every fortnight 

 the tanglefoot must be scraped to keep the surface in good condition or as often 



Trap No. 2 at Keatings, B.C., which captured 17,000 weevils. 



as it becomes dust coated and when it has been in use about three months it 

 should be removed entirely and a fresh band spread. If properly constructed 

 and kept in good condition this is an entirely efficient barrier, but it was found 

 almost at the outset that it could be immensely improved by placing traps to 

 catch the weevils at intervals along the outside of the barrier. Strawberry 

 Root Weevils cannot fly and coming to the barrier they have a natural tendency 

 to follow it along on the soil surface rather than attempt to cross it, so that if 

 traps formed of shallow flat sided tins filled with coal oil and water are sunk 

 in the ground against the side of the barrier, the weevils fall in and are drowned 

 by thousands. 



The trap I have used with much success is formed of half a coal oil tin sunk 

 in the soil against the side of the barrier. The edges should be turned back at 

 right angles for about an inch and pressed down flat on the surface of the soil. 

 At the back, against the side of the barrier a sheet of glass is fixed by two or 



