Madison Reporter

As of June 7, 2024, free burlap is no longer available. The supply has been taken. Burlap can be purchased from hardware and fabric stores. For additional information on protecting trees from spongy moths, visit the spongy moth website.

The City of Madison had initially provided free burlap to residents for wrapping trees to protect against spongy moth caterpillars. The burlap was available at two locations: the City of Madison Engineering Division operations facility at 1600 Emil Street and the Streets Division drop-off site at 4602 Sycamore Avenue.

Residents were instructed to bring their own cutting tools to obtain burlap from these locations during specified hours.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) offers a video demonstrating how to use burlap bands for tree protection. According to the DNR, residents should wrap a 20-inch wide band of burlap around the trunk of their tree at chest height, tie it with rope or twine in the center, and fold down the top six inches to create a barrier for caterpillars.

Daily checks are necessary to remove any trapped caterpillars by scraping them into soapy water. The burlap bands remain effective while spongy moths are in the caterpillar stage until mid-to-late July when they emerge as moths. Residents should remove the bands in August and watch for egg masses in the fall.

Further details about Madison's response to spongy moths can be found at www.cityofmadison.com/SpongyMoth.