My grandpa told me that the newspaper will keep the worm from crawling up the trunk. Gramps did this for years, my dad did it and I have been doing it for years, too. I don't have the dreaded worms that we call tomato worms. This may not be the correct name, but Daves picture is the right one. I have also been putting the paper around my brugs the past two years, because they were getting infested with the worm. Thank you Dave for providing a picture.