Nov 4, 2011
The Tangler makes mating disruption quick

The Tangler, an invention of Brett and Chandra Bunker, owners of Ridge Quest in Kent City, Mich., might just change how growers go about dispersing scent traps for mating disruption of codling moth – or mating disruption of any other pests.

Having worked in construction, Brett has always been good with his hands and at coming up with solutions to problems. That is why, when he first looked mating disruption of codling moth, he got to thinking that there had to be a better way of doing things.

The Tangler is a patented design that allows scent traps to be hung in fruit trees in a fraction of the time it normally takes, and with less workers. At the core of the system is a gun that runs off compressed air.

“The trigger system and the basics of the gun are from a paint ball gun,” Brett said.

The gun fires a biodegradable composite module that splits into two separate pieces. Connecting the two pieces is a string that gets twisted and tangled into the branches of the tree. The module’s scent dispersion lasts 150 days.

2012 will be a research season, to make sure the module is completely biodegradable – although tests so far show that it is, he said.

The cartridges will come in a pack of 400 rounds, divided into strips, which load into a clip mechanism that feeds the gun. Each clip will hold 25 modules, and the packaging will have 16 sleeves of 25, with space for the clip to fit around the sleeve.

“Our goal was to make reloading fast and to save as much time as possible,” Brett said. “That is the biggest advantage of the gun. It saves time and labor costs.”

One market the Bunkers are looking at is growers who wouldn’t normally employ mating disruption because of the labor costs.

“What would normally take a crew of four to six men several hours – to hang scent traps in a one-acre block – can be done by one person in roughly 20 minutes,” Brett said.

The Bunkers are planning to have the Tangler ready for sale in 2013. Costs should be competitive with other mating disruption techniques, he said.

By Derrek Sigler, Associate Editor


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