Saving Trees From Pine Bark Beetles

What is a Pine Bark Beetle?

The Southern Pine Bark Beetle is an insect that attacks pine trees. They are attracted to drought stressed trees or distressed trees. The Southern Pine Bark Beetle is approximately the size of a grain of rice and bores a hole through the bark and into the Phloem, Cambium and Xylem layers of the Pine tree. These layers are the vascular layers of the tree (like our veins and arteries). Although small, the Southern Pine Bark Beetle attacks the tree in large numbers so that the number of bore holes in the tree is in the hundreds to thousands. Ultimately the vascular layer of the tree is interrupted to the extent that nutrients are no longer able to make it to the trees foliage and the tree dies. This takes as little as 14 days from the time of entry. By the time you notice the infestation it may have already been 10 days or more.


What does ArborTrue do?

A small plug, called the Arborplug™, is inserted into a drilled hole in the tree. A needle inserts through the Arborplug™ and formulation is injected. Formulations are quickly distributed through the trunk, branches and leaf tissue. The Arborplug™ keeps the injected formulation inside the tree, protects it, and stays inside the tree with no adverse reactions. The tree grows right over the Arborplug.

What are the benefits to this method?

No mess left behind. No chemicals left in the soil or in the air so it is safe for your children and pets. The results are effective and are backed by proven university trials. Long term treatment and prevention benefits for about two years! Safe for use around rivers, lakes, streams and federal/state land.

What are not suitable treatments?

Spraying the trees: Spraying trees is effective only for parasites that will actually come in contact with the insecticide. Pine bark beetles are deep inside the tree. Spraying also will kill many desirable insects such as butterflies, lady bugs, honey bees etc. Spraying is not legal near waterways and is toxic for the fish. Spraying is generally messy. Sprayed on insecticides will usually wash off in the rain. Spraying requires large amounts of solution.

Deep root injections: Deep root injections depend on a healthy root system to take up the solution which is not always available in a drought stressed tree. Many times in suburban and urban areas the roots are under the driveway, house, street or other structures and the tree cannot be treated correctly. On a pine tree the roots go deeper than the equipment can reach because the root is a tap root. This method requires large amounts of solution and runoff is a problem especially near environmentally sensitive areas. Not safe around playgrounds. In flower beds, secondary damage can occur to the other plants that are not in need of the treatment.

What does it cost?

One of our ISA Certified Arborists can help you determine if you have pine bark beetles, what species of beetle it is, and how treatable your trees are. They charge a minimal fee for that consultation and can help you understand your options so you are not taken advantage of by unsavory characters in the market.

 

We advise homeowners to adopt preventive measures instead of stopping with merely identifying the causes and effects of pine bark beetle attack

Prevention is the best cure holds good when it comes to pine bark beetles. There are a few precautionary measures that you can adopt to prevent and their entry and infestation. They are:

  • Act diligently before the active season for the beetle begins. They infest pine trees during their peak season, which is from March to October.
  • Diligently keep an eye out for browning needles or needles turning a rusty red color.
    When a tree begins to stress, it often times will produce more fruit (pine cones). It’s a built in safety mechanism.
  • If fine granular or fuzzy looking sawdust appears at the base of the tree you must call us immediately!
    When pitch tubes appear they look like small crawfish mounds protruding from the bark no bigger around than your pinky finger with a hole in the center about the size of a grain of rice. It may be too late to save the tree at this point so call us immediately.
  • Once the bark begins to fall from the tree it is probably too late but we have saved them. Your other trees can be protected if you act instantly by calling us.
  • Specializing in full-service tree care for more than 20 years, ArborTrue is always the first name that comes to the minds of scores of homeowners across Houston, particularly , Memorial, River Oaks, Tanglewood, The Galleria Area, Friendswood, Huffman, Kingwood, Humble, Atascocita, Summerwood, Eagle Springs, Lake Shore, The Woodlands, Spring, Porter and Conroe.

Contact us today at (832) 980-8733 for free tree inspection services, including preventive measures to fight pine bark beetle attack, so that our service representatives are able to serve you to the best of their abilities. You have another option to contact us-you can fill out our online contact form and let us know what you are looking for. We will be right there to assist you with your tree care needs!

  • Safety – We take preventive measures to minimize any chance of damage to your property. Being seasoned specialists in all kinds of tree services in Houston, you can rely on us for getting reliable and long-term solutions and results.
  • Care – Our experience and knowledge ensures that our processes will deliver the desired results. All services are carried out in such a way that the finished product will entrust you complete satisfaction.
  • Integrity – You can rest assured to get the full value of your money through our professional tree services. Our tree services are priced correctly.

Need Tree Service Help?

Give us a call or use our contact form and an expert arborist will be in contact as soon as possible.

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