Cankerworm increase prompts City of Regina appeal to band trees

The City of Regina is asking people to be vigilant in their tree banding, after spotting rising numbers ofcankerworms.

Russell Eirich, manager of forestry, pest control and horticulture at the City of Regina, said crews have been seeing a slightincrease in the number of cankerworms in some spots around the city.

• Band now to prevent cankerworms, City of Regina says

Eirich said five of 80 areas in the city are seeing a rise in numbers of the worms, which can lay their eggs in trees and eventually kill them.

He said the number of worms has been at a historic low the past few years, and that means some people have gotten complacent about banding.

"We've noticed that a lot of residences that used to band are no longer banding. So that's just going to contribute a little bit," he said.

Last year, the worm count was so lowthe city didn't spray. It's hoping to keep most areas below the threshold where it would need to spray this year, as well.

In order to do this, officials areasking people to band their trees this April, since that'swhen female canker worms are emerging.

"They're going into the trees;they're laying their eggs now. If we can get on the trees and get them banded, we will interfere with the egg-laying cycle," he said.

For more information on how to band trees, click here.