PINE BARK BEETLE BIOLOGY
Pine Bark Beetles are small reddish brown beetles about 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch long. They are able to fly, they reside in trees and can be found at many altitudes around the world. Though they prefer live trees, they can and will feed on freshly cut stands when readily available. Pine bark beetles are the single most destructive pest which attacks pine trees. They are quick to reproduce, migrate and eat so once active on any one tree in a stand, it is important to start dealing with them immediately to minimize casualties. There are other species which will feed on a variety of hardwood trees but these tend to be slower at both reproducing and causing damage. Softwoods, like pine trees, tend to get damaged quicker and are able to provide harborage to more insects then hard woods over the same period of time.
Pine bark beetles are attracted to pine trees by first smelling the trees sap. Though most trees will emit small amounts of sap naturally, trees which sustain injury due to man or nature are more likely to get beetle activity quicker. Pruning at unappropriate times (like the summer), mechanical damage by construction crews cutting protective tree bark, lightning, drought, disease or insect damage like that which can occur from termites are all things that can make a tree more susceptible to pine bark beetles. Once a flow of sap is more than normal, the odds that beetles will find the tree are increased.
PINE TREE INJURIES LEAD TO BEETLES
A normal healthy tree will emit or release some sap that can attract beetles. When a tree is injured and sap runs freely, the odds that beetles find the tree are greatly increased. Once found, beetles will penetrate the bark and then begin excavating tunnels between the bark and the wood of the tree. These tunnels will serve as egg cavities. Eggs will be laid and when the larva hatch they will immediately begin to feed on the live part of the tree called the phloem and xylem. This feeding will lead them on a random journey which typically moves around the tree weakening it’s bark to the point of it falling off. Trees which have been severely damaged will shed their bark and appear naked; galleries and tunnels will be visible leaving a sure sign of what caused the damage.
Once the larva get their fill, they will undergo a metamorphosis during which time they change to adults. This third stage is called the pupa and when ready, they will hatch and emerge from the tree. Their emergence will leave a bunch of new holes through which the attractive scent of sap along with their natural pheromones will attract even more beetles. For this reason it is always wise to treat any tree which you suspect may have a small amount of activity. Trees can withstand a beetle or two but if left alone, this initial activity will multiply to hundreds of beetles as new ones are attracted. At this point the survival of the tree is not likely. Most importantly, the adult beetles which will be emerging are looking for new trees on which to land and start laying eggs. If you have a stand of trees and one gets an infestation, it is always best to treat as many around the infested one that you want to save. This effort will help prevent the activity from spreading.
PINE BARK BEETLE CONTROL
The control of pine bark beetles is really not a control as much as it is a preventive treatment. Trees which have activity are difficult to save. This is true for two reasons. First, once a tree is infested, the adults and larva are active behind the bark which serves as protection from conventional sprays. Secondly, rarely does anyone spot a tree with only a beetle or two. However, it can be done. If you happen upon a tree which has only minor and beginning beetle activity, it can be saved. For this reason you must consider all options and then make a decision based on what makes you comfortable and what gives you piece of mind. Here are some general guidelines for both the prevention and control of pine bark beetles before and after activity has been found.
PINE BARK BEETLE LIQUID TREATMENTS
If you are in a region where pine bark beetles are active or if you have had some bad experience with them in the past, you may consider treating and protecting any tree you value. Such treatments should done quarterly (cold weather regions don’t need to treat when the beetles are not active during winter months). By spraying the bark you can help to establish a protective barrier through which beetles cannot enter. Furthermore, one of the best products to use has a strong repellency feature. Since bark beetles don’t like it they tend to stay off and away from treated surfaces. CYPERMETHRIN is the product to use for this purpose. It will last at least a month or more and because the beetles can sense even trace amounts they tend to stay away from where it has been applied.
Use one of our SPRAYERS and be sure to get as high as you can up the bark. In general, you want to spray high first so that the material will run down the bark and you will be able to maximize the area treated without spraying the same area over and over.
Since pine trees tend to have rough and detailed surfaces which are sometimes hard to get equally sprayed, add some SPREADER STICKER to the tank mix. This product makes the spray “spread” over treated surfaces enabling the Cypermethrin to get better coverage. In the long run you will be doing a better job of spraying as well as using less chemical. Treat any and all trees you want to protect. Such applications will help keep away carpenter ants, termites, carpenter bees and other destructive insects which can all weaken and contribute to any trees demise. Do these applications quarterly and you won’t have to worry about tree loss due to bark beetles.
PINE BARK BEETLE HOLE TREATMENT
There are many theories about what to do once you have found live beetle activity. As previously stated above, most infestations are not discovered until it is too late to save the host tree. However, if you have found a tree with only a little activity and want to do everything you can to save it, you do have options.
THE BEST SPRAY
The best option is to use some of the Cypermethrin listed above in a Sprayer along with the Spreader Sticker and inject the material into any hole you find on the bark. Exit holes, bark separating from the tree and damaged sections can all be used as access points through which you can spray. If you poke and prod the bark gently, many times you are able to find sections of bark which are loose or cracking. Such areas probably have activity and should be treated. You can also drill some small holes into the tree, just deep enough to enable spray to trickle down behind th bark, which can prove to be an effective way to treat. This type of treatment can be tedious and may prove to be too much work. However, killing off feeding larva before they cause too much damage can prove life saving for the tree.
PINE BARK BEETLE AEROSOL
The second option for treating the tree behind the bark is the use of PT-CYKICK. This is an aerosol which comes with a straw which can be inserted into small holes so that you can treat behind the tree bark easily. The pressure of the can along with the aerosol sized particles which are released insures a thorough treatment. The use of this product will require less product which will be distributed faster and more uniform. The other advantage using this product is that you are able to treat the tree much faster. Insert the thin straw, hold the can on for 5-10 seconds and you are done. Do this around the trunk spacing holes about 1-2 feet apart depending on how well each treatment hole takes product. The more each hole will take the less holes needed. Holes don’t need to be bigger than 1/8 of an inch so the exit holes from beetles which have already left can be utilized. Once treated behind the bark, use some of the Cypermethrin listed above to spray the outside the bark of the tree to help put in place a residual which will keep out new beetles. If you have other trees close by, treat them as well following the treatment of the tree with activity.
PINE BARK BEETLE SYSTEMIC (SOIL INJECTION)
When a tree has been found with a lot of activity, you probably won’t be able to save it. The original thinking of handling such trees has been to remove them making sure to burn it along with all the infesting beetles. However, this is not always so easy to do. One thing is for sure: If you have a tree infested with Pine Bark Beetles and there are other trees close by, you need to treat the other trees ASAP. This preventive application should be done with the Cypermethrin and careful inspections of these same trees should be done monthly as well until the infested tree can be removed or taken down.
There are other considerations that need to be thought of regarding the infested tree. First, does it pose a threat to a home or wildlife should it unexpectedly fall? Trees that have been weakened by beetle damage will eventually fall to the earth. Be sure the tree you have identified does not pose any hazard to nearby residents.
Second, can the tree which is infested be removed? If the answer is yes, you should consider treating if before the removal. Remember, the act of taking down the tree will stir up adults causing them to leave. This exodus will undoubtedly allow several of them to find a new home elsewhere basically infesting another tree. Avoid this problem by treating the tree being removed with Cykick or Cypermethrin.
Third, once removed, where will the dead tree be taken? Trees which have been treated prior to being taken down may have less active adults and larva but there is no way all will be dead. As a general rule you don’t want to leave a fallen tree laying around which is infested with pine bark beetles. They will quickly start to leave and nearby trees will become immediate targets and new homes. It is important to have the tree taken away, mulched or burned immediately upon being cut. There have been too many cases of trees which look to be OK turn out having hundreds and thousands of adults start leaving it once it has been cut down. These migrating adults are then able to relocate and start their infestations all over again.
Make sure you don’t let this happen by disposing of the tree completely. Burning works well and mulching does a good job as well. The last thing you want to do is keep the logs laying around intended to become firewood for the next winter. This would be a big mistake. Since the adults and larva will start leaving this now dead and dehydrating lumber you should never keep and store any of the infested wood around the home. Get rid of it any way you can.
And something else you should consider doing is to apply a systemic. These are products that you water into the ground around the trunk of the tree. Once injected, these products will be absorbed up into the tree and kill any pests feeding on it. The best product for this is DOMINION 2 L. It can be sprayed on the tree too but it’s real strong point is when one uses it as a systemic. Though it will take a few weeks to make it’s way throughout the tree, annual treatments with Dominion can protect trees from infestation and cure current problems so trees can be safely removed without fear of relocating the beetle population.
PINE BARK BEETLE CONTROL SUMMARY
Pine bark beetles can be a problem for homeowners and land owners all around the world. They strike quietly and their damage will quickly kill infected trees. If you are in a region where activity is high, inspect your trees every couple of months to try and identify if any get activity. Pine bark beetle control can be achieved if you treat with Cypermethrin once a quarter to help safeguard against infestations. Once active, you will need to first protect the trees surrounding the one with activity and then make some decisions regarding the infested tree which could include using a systemic like Merit WP. If you decide to try and save it, be sure to do thorough applications behind the bark which will help to kill off current activity thus helping to minimize damage. If the tree has to be removed, be sure to destroy all the wood properly so the present beetle population is not able to survive and relocate. Following these guidelines will help keep your trees both healthy and happy so they can continue to be an active part of your landscape.
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Comments on PINE BARK BORER BEETLE CONTROL
Windy @ 2:01 am
Client does not want to remove infested mulch from beds. Can it be controlled?
Tech Support @ 8:26 am
@Windy: Easily. In fact pine bark mulch and other wood is commonly used as mulch around the home. Unfortunately most any wood used will inadvertently attract all kinds of insects and once they gather and populate, some will start moving to live trees or even inside the home. This will many times lead to costly damage, repairs and aggravation when they move inside. And when they move to live trees, the damage can be just as bad.
So when there are wood chips around the home and you either want to prevent or control insect pests from moving onto them, get some of the Cypermethrin listed above. Mix it at the rate of 1/2 oz per gallon of water and apply it to the chips at the rate of 1 gallon per 500 sq/ft of area. This will both kill the beetles and keep new ones away. It will also keep away other pests like ants, roaches, crickets, scorpions and millipedes. Do this treatment quarterly and the chips should remain pest free.
Pine bark beetles in wood chips is quite common and but easy to control with the Cypermethrin:
Cypermethrin: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/viper-cypermethrin
Carol @ 10:18 am
I recently purchased log furniture and a few of the beetles have emerged from the wood I set off a insect bomb and am waiting to see if this will take care of the problem. Is there anything else you can suggest for this problem or will they die off since the wood is lacquered but it seems like they have bored inside the log post of the bed. Please reply.
Tech Support @ 10:41 am
In fact what you’re describing sounds a lot more like some type of Anobiid beetle. These include furniture, deathwatch and powderpost beetles. This species lives deep in the wood. Larvae feed and when they get their fill, they’ll spin a cocoon where they turn to an adult. When ready, they’ll hatch and bore out of the infested wood. Hole sizes will be in the 1/16″ to 1/4″ range. What’s important to understand is that these are exit holes, not entrance holes, so directly treating them won’t help.
Now if you read the article above, you’ll see pinebark beetles are quite different in what they do. As explained, this beetle lives between the bark and tree trunk and doesn’t do much damage to dead wood. I don’t think this is what you’re seeing – especially if the logs are bare with the outer bark removed. This process generally eliminates pine bark beetles but won’t have any impact on anobiids.
So what should you do? First, read our Wood Beetle article:
Wood Beetles: http://www.bugspray.com/articles98/powderpostbeetles.html
This will give you a better understanding of this pest. From the reading you’ll learn that the problem will most likely continue for some time because deep in the wood, there could be an untold amount of developing beetles. So how do you treat?
Well, aerosols – even those directly injected to the wood – will rarely solve the problem. With that being said, you should stop setting off total release bombs. They’ll do nothing to help and in general, are a bad product choice since they spew chemical all over and most of where they end up isn’t where the treatment needs to be. This is especially true when it comes to wood beetles.
But what will help is if you treat the wood with either Boracare or Jecta Gel. Both options will solve the problem and in most cases, one treatment will last indefinitely if the furniture is kept out of direct weathering. Read up more on these products here:
Boracare: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/boracare-gal
Jecta Gel: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/gel/jecta-gel-10-oz
Robbie @ 10:10 am
Do the pine beetles also live in the dead needles on the ground? Wanting to use some straw for landscaping but, don’t want to invite a problem into my home.
Tech Support @ 10:20 am
Good question. In general, pine bark borers will not be found living in pine straw. However, pine straw is something many pests love including crickets, roaches, ants, straw itch mites and many others (see our main page for info on any of these other pests). Does this mean you shouldn’t use it for mulching? No way!
In fact, pine straw is one of the best mulch materials you can use around the home. Besides looking great, it can help the soil and the plants it surrounds. Just be sure to apply some Bifen Granules or Cyonara RTS immediately after the install. This way if the straw had any unwanted guests, the treatment will take care of them.
And this goes for anything you might apply as “mulch”. Wood chips, rocks, pine straw – every one of these choices can carry or attract pests because once you cover the ground with something that can trap moisture and create heat, pests (both insect and animal) are sure to follow. And once they’re living adjacent to any structure, it’s just a matter of time before they get inside which is why treating around the home throughout the year is both smart and the best way to do pest control: before you get a pest problem.
Bifen Granules: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/granule/bifenthrin-g-25-lb
Bifen IT: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/bifen
Travis @ 2:54 pm
I have a pine tree that was annihilated by these beetles… I still use the tree to attach targets to. What are the negative effects of leaving the tree in the ground opposed to cutting it down and treating the area? Will it attract any other nasties like termites?
Thanks,
Travis
Tech Support @ 6:40 pm
Any rotting stump is not a good idea to let sit – especially if it’s close to a structure you’d like to keep or other trees of value on the land. The reason is simple. The short list of pests that will target a rotting tree includes pine beetles, carpenter ants, carpenter bees and termites but the list is actually much longer. And once the stump gets any one of these destructive pests, the surrounding area will no doubt get the some of the same pests as the populations in the tree start migrating and spreading.
So if you want to keep the tree, I suggest you drench it with some Termidor. This will essentially make it impossible for anything to live in or on it and in turn the tree will be able to serve you much longer as a “target holder”. Keeping it treated will also help to minimize the chances of anything starting there and then migrating elsewhere on the property.
Termidor: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/termidor-sc-20-oz
Robin @ 1:27 pm
Hello,
We recently cut down several dead pines around our house and now we have tons of these little brown bugs all around the house and they are coming in the house. Can you send me a picture of this pine beetle so I can see if that is what we are dealing with?
Much appreciated, Robin
Tech Support @ 1:33 pm
Sorry but no. There are literally hundreds of species of these guys and it’s not likely you’ll be able to match a photo to what you’re seeing. Their size, color and overall look can be so varied it’s not a practical idea or solution to proper pest id.
Now what you can do is bring a sample to local pest control company to see what they believe it is. Regardless, I suggest you treat the outside of the home with some of the Cypermethrin we have listed above as soon as possible. This active will work on any pest so whether it’s a pine borer or some other nuisance beetle, you won’t have to worry about them moving inside your home and becoming a long term problem.
Cypermethrin: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/viper-cypermethrin
Bill @ 3:20 pm
I have three trees infested but would like to save them. Would it be worthwhile to treat with both cypermethrin and merit or is there a better approach??
Tech Support @ 5:42 pm
If these trees are valuable to you, still pushing out leaves and don’t appear to be on the verge of dying, by all means give them a chance to make it by treating. The Cypermethrin will get you some immediate results and the Merit will provide long term control by acting as a systemic. And don’t forget to treat any trees you wish to preserve. Give any other tree or shrub on the property a good dose so they don’t fall victim to any migrating beetles.
Cypermethrin: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/viper-cypermethrin
Merit WP: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/wettable-powder/merit-75-wp-2-oz
Mike @ 8:14 pm
I have about a dozen Norwegian Pines that have browning needles and the browning is moving up the tree. The trees are losing all needles. What might be the cause, and cure or prevention?
Secondly, several of the pines have a boring beetle boring 3/16 to 1/4″ holes, evenly space around the trunk, and then moving down an equal distance, and repeating a second row of holes, then a 3rd, 4th, etc. etc. I could not drill a more uniform pattern intentionally. Help!!!!
Tech Support @ 11:06 pm
No doubt you have some kind of boring beetle that’s causing the trees to get weak. At this time I recommend you treat with the Cypermethrin and Cykick as explained above in our article. Basically you’ll be spraying the trunks and limbs of the trees with Cypermethrin followed by treating all the holes with the Cykick.
Cypermethrin: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/viper-cypermethrin
PT-Cykick: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/aerosol/pt-cykick-17-5-oz
Next, spray all surrounding trees you want to protect. This should help protect them for getting like this one tree which could end up dying even after being treated based on the condition you’re describing.
Lastly, I suggest you also soil drench using the Merit WP. This will provide long term control for all treated trees and basically, only one application a year will be needed. This way once the trees have the Merit in their system, you’ll only need the Merit and no more spraying.
Merit WP: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/wettable-powder/merit-75-wp-2-oz
It’s important to realize it may be too late to save the tree in question but I’ve seen trees rebound that appear dead so you never can tell. More importantly, treating this problem directly will help reduce the beetles around the property so that you don’t have this problem spreading.
David Pugh @ 9:52 am
Thank you for this article. It has been very enlightening to read. I have several mature pine trees around my trailer home and I am concerned. One tree has fresh wood chips appearing at the base from red head wood-peckers. Does this mean the tree is infested with pine borers? David.
Tech Support @ 10:10 am
I can’t say conclusively that in fact the tree is infested with this pest. But I would say there is a strong chance (90% or more) that there is some kind of pest attracting the wood pecker. So for now, here’s what you should do.
First, treat as much of the tree (and any close by you’d like to protect) with the Cypermethrin listed above. This would be easy to do and no doubt control most any pest that might be living on it or in the area.
Cypermethrin: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/viper-cypermethrin
Next, install a Jumping Spider on the tree the wood pecker has targeted. This device will keep the attacks from happening and drive damaging birds away.
Attack Spider: http://www.bugspraycart.com/repellents/visual/attack-spider-w18-line
Lynn Phillips @ 7:43 am
Due to a lightning strike I have had to remove 2 very large pine trees (2 ft. diameter) due to beatles. I now have two more that are infested to the point of needing removal. Would it be best to wait until cold weather to remove the trees or is it best to remove them ASAP. I am not sure if cold weather would help in the prevention of beatles spreading further.
Tech Support @ 8:48 am
Removing the trees now or in the winter will not matter. Here’s why.
First, the life cycle of this pest is active and constant as soon as the local air temperatures are high enough. This means they’re feeding and migrating from spring to early winter. During the winter all stages shut down and go into a state of hibernation. Come the new spring they will all become active again and the life cycle will pickup where it left off last fall.
Second, the act of cutting down any tree will not bother them. So if you were to remove your trees now, you shouldn’t fear any kind of “mass migration” from the tree because that won’t happen. Typically what you see is that this pest will become frightened and immobile due to all the violent action going on around it. Now if you were to leave the dismembered tree on your property, no doubt some would start migrating in the coming days. But cutting it down now and immediately taking it away would insure most every beetle would be carried away too.
Third, what you should fear is that every day there are adult beetles leaving your infested trees migrating and searching for new trees to infest and that this migration will allow for the problem to spread. Now the only way to stop this from happening is to treat the trees you wish to save as explained above using the Cypermethrin spray.
Cypermethrin: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/viper-cypermethrin
Lastly, the one thing we do know that will help prevent the spread of this beetle is to keep your trees treated with Cypermethrin and to keep them as far away as possible for infested trees. That means for you, the proper (more efficient course of action) is to first spray all the trees you want to protect and then remove any infested tree on the property you can legally remove.
sherrie lee @ 11:52 am
We live in Idaho. We just cut down a tree infested with pine beetles. How long will it take for the beetles to move to another healthy tree? We have beautiful trees on our land and I really need to save the others.
Tech Support @ 12:01 pm
If you refer to the answer I left for the last question that posted, you’ll learn that in fact they won’t be migrating just because you cut the one tree down. In fact they migrate from infested trees all the time so yes, it’s good that you removed the one tree. However, failure to treat the trees you’d like to keep pine bark beetle free means they’ll likely develop the same problem in the near future. So to prevent this from happening, start treating to protect them Cypermethrin.
Cypermethrin: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/viper-cypermethrin
Previous comment that applies to your question is here:
http://www.bugspray.com/article/pinebark.html#comment-20916
Mrs Adams @ 3:27 pm
We have noticed that we have a couple of pine trees that have been destroyed by the pine beetles and after reading the articles above I have a question. If we choose to use a spray will it harm the bees that we have on the property?
Tech Support @ 8:14 pm
Not at all. If you read the article above, you’ll see you only need to treat the tree trunks you want to protect. In general bees won’t be landing there so there is very little if any risk to them. Additionally, bees are able to detect the treatment quite well and they don’t like it. That means they tend to stay away from where it’s been applied. So even if they did come around the treated trees, they’ll detect the Cypermethrin and stay off any where you spray.
Cypermethrin: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/viper-cypermethrin
PT-Cykick: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/aerosol/pt-cykick-17-5-oz
K @ 1:04 am
I picked up a couple of tree trunk pieces from a yard where the tree had been cut down to use as props. I brought them home and placed them under my carport. A couple of weeks ago I heard a rhythmic chewing sound but could not find anything making the noise. Now the bark has begun to fall off and I saw tiny black ant like insects and larvae under the bark. I rolled it to the street and most of the bark fell off. I did not see any larvae in the exposed area after moving it. The bark has tiny holes in it too.
1) What should I do with the trunks?
2) Should I be concerned for my home?
3) Living in a rural area, trees are everywhere..should I make neighbors aware that the trunks had this problem? Thanks.
Tech Support @ 9:43 am
Dead trees will typically attract all kinds of insects and wood borers are no doubt one species that will seize the opportunity and move in on the vulnerable cellulose as quickly as it’s detected. That being said, these very same pests will usually stay on the log where they are happy and their food is plentiful. In other words, they don’t look to relocate until they mature or use up the food supply.
Now since the log was “rolled” around a bit, I wouldn’t be surprised if some larvae fell out and may be foraging around the yard. Is this reason to be “concerned”? Probably not. But if this happened in my yard, I would definitely get a fresh application of granules applied to my turf to insure none that were foraging were able to get very far. A good granule for this would be the Deltagard seen here:
Deltagard: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/granule/delta-guard-20-lb
This alone should quell any chance of them surviving but if you wanted to be 100% sure they were not able to migrate to a nearby tree and live, spray down any trunks with the Cypermethrin listed above and this will knock them out for sure.
Cypermethrin: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/viper-cypermethrin
As for your neighbors; I wouldn’t mention anything if I treated my yard following the incident because I would know the problem was handled. But if you choose to not act, you might want to inform your immediate neighbors of what you saw. This way if they have any trees they value and want to protect, they’ll be able to act and take some precautionary measures to assure nothing happens to them.
K @ 10:46 pm
Thank you for taking time to respond.
Craig @ 2:04 pm
How many ounces are required to treat the outside of a 1-2 ft diameter pine? Spraying approx 30′ up the trunk?
Tech Support @ 5:51 pm
The Cypermethrin should be mixed 1 oz per gallon of water and for a tree of this size, you shouldn’t need but 1/2 to 1 gallon of mixed solution. Now most people tend to waste a lot of the solution by spraying with too much pressure (which creates splash back and lost spray) and they tend to miss the surface area. But if you’re careful taking care to not miss the trunk much and if you start up high on the trunk (so the run off drips down and onto untreated area), you can get it done properly without too much waste.
Cypermethrin: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/viper-cypermethrin
C Pryor @ 11:28 am
I have just discovered that one of my young pine trees died from a pine borer and some other trees near it look to be infected. Can I treat the remaining trees now or should I wait until spring? Thanks.
Tech Support @ 11:42 am
Trees will be absorbing nutrients all year long so no doubt if you soil drench them now with some Dominion, you’ll start to knock out this problem right away. Granted it takes 30-45 days for the active to get distributed throughout the average sized tree but there is no need to wait and subject any tree to more damage.
I recommend you treat any tree you want to protect now with the Dominion and then followup with some of the topical treatments if you find any new boring damage. This two pronged defense system should keep them under control.
Dominion 2L: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/dominion-2l-termiticide-insecticide
A Robinson @ 1:58 am
We have noticed this fall that we have lost quite a few trees to some sort of borer this fall on our property. We are talking about 20-30 trees so far. We did some cutting this spring and unfortunately did not know this could happen. We are planning to cut down all of the dead or infected trees now but wonder if we need to take any other action?
Tech Support @ 9:07 am
I would say you should definitely take some action. Based on your message, it would appear that you have some kind of borer that is targeting your local forrest. And I would also say this has been going on for some time.
Now at this time I suggest you try to learn if it’s just one species of tree that’s under attack or more of a random assault. Next, I’d try to determine if it’s one given area (1/4 to 1/2 acre) or a large expanse with specific trees singled out.
Usually what one will find is that the damage will be to a specific species in a small area but since you state you found activity on 20-30 trees, it makes me think the area involved might be quite large. Either way, do some inspecting to see just what extent they may have gotten and then as soon as spring arrives, start treating. Most borers will get dormant once the temperatures drop below 45 degrees so if it’s winter where you live, wait at least till March before you start spraying. But exit holes can be found any time of year so no doubt you can get out there and start inspecting to see just how many trees have been attacked.
Now how large of an area you will have to treat will depend on what you find. So if you find only one type of tree is being targeted throughout a few acres, you could choose to spray just that species of tree.
But if you find activity on a wide range of trees, I’d treat every one within the active area as well as any healthy trees within 10 yards. This should both slow their damage to infested trees and more importantly, slow or stop their ability to infest more trees. And you should start treating every spring, summer and fall using the Cypermethrin listed above.
Cypermethrin: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/viper-cypermethrin
Now following this schedule should slow if not stop their damage and by this time next year, you should notice some more “lost” trees but the number should be way less. I would say just 5-10 more compared to the 20-30 you reported above. And if you treat this way for a second year (2014), you should expect the damaged tree total at the end of 2014 to drop even more with just 5 or less trees lost. From there on the losses should be nominal and manageable if you stay the course.
Kim @ 8:54 am
A family member just recently built a house (September – October of 2012) in an area where bark beetles had been doing a great deal of damage (in close proximity to a pine tree forest) in Wisconsin. One of the main supporting beams in their home is a large kiln-dried white pine tree trunk (approximately 24″ in diameter) which had been de-barked prior to drying. It is weight-bearing and supports the roof and much of the second floor. We recently noticed some fine sawdust like material on and around the beam and heard a scratching sound near one of the knots in the wood. We are concerned that bark beetles may have intruded the wood when it was brought from the kiln-drier to the construction site but prior to installation in the house. Removing the beam is not a practical option. What do you recommend for treating what we suspect are powderpost beetles? Any direction or guidance you can give would be greatly appreciated.
Tech Support @ 9:38 am
The best way to proceed would be to thoroughly treat this main beam, along with any others you can access, with a liquid material known as Boracare. This product mixes with water and once applied, will penetrate the wood through and through. It can be applied with any common pump sprayer but when treating overhead wood, you might find it more efficient to “paint” it on using a paint brush. Using a paint brush will take longer but it will enable you to maximize the coverage and reduce waste big time.
Boracare: http://www.bugspraycart.com/insecticide/liquid/boracare-gal
Boracare uses boron as it’s active which is both very safe and odorless. Plus, once applied to the wood, you won’t even know it’s present since it Boracare won’t affect the color or the texture of the wood.
More information can be found on this pest in our article posted here:
Wood Beetle: http://www.bugspray.com/articles98/powderpostbeetles.html