Tree Management, Japanese style

This is a Japanese arborist technique to combat bark beetles. What they do is wrap the tree trunks from ground level up to about chest high in these straw mats. The beetles climb up and hide in them to hibernate for the winter as it is cold. In very early spring, the arborists come back and peel off the mats that are now full of sleeping beetles and bugs, and then they... burn them! It works well for many reasons, one being that the straw mats are much easier to burrow in than having to bore into the tougher tree bark. Another reason is, this actually gets rid of the beetles and bugs without using any chemicals and other environmentally damaging pesticides. Japanese really know how to work with nature :)