Borer Question

[just.wing.it]

My buddy has been struggling with his trees being killed by borer bugs.
Not bonsai trees, but his 4 acre wooded patch is nearly gone after the last 5 years of borers.
It's the place where I collected my Carpinus Caroliniana.

It's to the point now that I'm encouraging him to wait them out, and plant a new forest.

My question is, are there certain species of tree that are not known to be victimized by borers?
Or is everything lunch to them?

I was thinking about thin bark or exfoliating bark species....any advice there? Or am I just barking up the wrong tree?

Thanks!

 

[penumbra]

Borers tend to normally be selective. For instance Dogwood borers go after dogwoods, Prunus borers after cherry, plum, peach etc, pine borers, pines, and so on.
Are these borers attacking hornbeam? I would find that a bit odd.
Now the devastating ash borer is a problem. Now that the ashes are gone it has become an opportunistic feeder.
Before replanting you friend needs to have the pest identified.

I was thinking about thin bark or exfoliating bark species....any advice there? Or am I just barking up the wrong tree?

^^^

 

[Gr8tfuldad]

I know the peach and plum on my property are like magnets for them.

 

[just.wing.it]

Borers tend to normally be selective. For instance Dogwood borers go after dogwoods, Prunus borers after cherry, plum, peach etc, pine borers, pines, and so on.
Are these borers attacking hornbeam? I would find that a bit odd.
Now the devastating ash borer is a problem. Now that the ashes are gone it has become an opportunistic feeder.
Before replanting you friend needs to have the pest identified.

^^^

He has had professionals out there. They say it's emerald Ash borer.
His Ash trees went first, then the Oaks and Hickory trees....today he told me they killed an Eastern White Pine.

I also doubt they've been earing the Hornbeams too.
It just had me thinking that all those species have thick bark.
And I don't recall seeing Hornbeam or Beech having problems....or Chinese Elm or Crape Myrtle....American Sycamore.

 

[just.wing.it]

Bump...
Any thoughts? Am I crazy?

 

[penumbra]

Bump...
Any thoughts? Am I crazy?

Hey, your on this site, so I guess your question is answered.
About those Emerald Ash Borers, the could well be the most destruction borer humankind has experienced. There seems to be no limit to their varied appetites. We have lost all our Ash but our hickory have not been affected yet. Our Red oaks have there own problems. My wife is a certified arborist so she keeps up with it better than I do. I am afraid to ask her what is next. In the distant future trees may be a rarity and grasses may cover the planet.

 

[Firstflush]

In the 90s in my neck of the woods weeping silver birch were used in landscaping everywhere. A bark beetle showed up and took most of them out. People stopped planting them.

I can suggest hitting up your local university ag/forestry department and inquiring on the local beneficial predatory insect flora that can survive your winter. That would be your best bet.

For me in socal, I have probs with June bug and other Japanese beetle larva in my veggie beds. The treatment was beneficial nematodes. It worked and they reproduce.

If your borers are soil born larva, look into the local nematodes species of your area and drench the growing fields.
Additionally, improving the overall health of the soil on your friend’s property I.e. 3 inches of compost around the base of all the trees 2x a year he cares about will help. Same with a few scoups of worm castings. Healthy soil equals healthy trees that are able to fight off some of the borers infestation.

If you research the exact pest and learn their life cycle, you/buddy can strap on a backpack sprayer with a cold pressed neem mixture or pyrethrum and hit the trees at very specific times like when they initially emerge as larva or when the beetles begin their travel up the tree and into the bark.

Time and money……c’est la vie!

 

[Tums]

Does your friend know if the ash borer also killed the other trees? I also thought it was limited to trees in the olive family like ash. There's plenty of insects that prefer to attack oak, hickory, and pine trees (in fact, I discovered there's also an invasive oak borer while researching for this reply).

This article which is from your area has some ideas on replacement species.

Nature Notes: Plant succession

The ecological term “succession” describes the changes a community of plants goes through over time. In most cases plant communities change from a short-lived, transitory grouping to a more permanent

www.fredericknewspost.com

I haven't heard of any terrible diseases or insects attacking black gum or maples yet.

 

[rockm]

Borers are a symptom of something else going on with the tree, IMO. I don't think this is emerald ash borer. There are more than a dozen NATIVE borers that are more common and that feed on other species, including hornbeam. Do a search on "Bronze birch borer" Hornbeam is in the birch family.

http://www.emeraldashborer.info/documents/eab_id_guide.pdf

 

[Tums]

In the 90s in my neck of the woods weeping silver birch were used in landscaping everywhere. A bark beetle showed up and took most of them out. People stopped planting them.

I can suggest hitting up your local university ag/forestry department and inquiring on the local beneficial predatory insect flora that can survive your winter. That would be your best bet.

For me in socal, I have probs with June bug and other Japanese beetle larva in my veggie beds. The treatment was beneficial nematodes. It worked and they reproduce.

If your borers are soil born larva, look into the local nematodes species of your area and drench the growing fields.
Additionally, improving the overall health of the soil on your friend’s property I.e. 3 inches of compost around the base of all the trees 2x a year he cares about will help. Same with a few scoups of worm castings. Healthy soil equals healthy trees that are able to fight off some of the borers infestation.

If you research the exact pest and learn their life cycle, you/buddy can strap on a backpack sprayer with a cold pressed neem mixture or pyrethrum and hit the trees at very specific times like when they initially emerge as larva or when the beetles begin their travel up the tree and into the bark.

Time and money……c’est la vie!

Consulting a forester or extension service is a good idea for sure. I would be cautious about adding too much compost under the trees, seems expensive for 4 acres and you don't want to raise the soil level.

 

[penumbra]

Think what you will, but every ash on our 8 acre wood lot is dead. All from Emerald Ash Borer. I will see if my wife has the time to give me a list of what else they are killing in our area. We do have several native borers, we always have. But we never get this kind of destruction unless we import the insects from elsewhere.

 

[Firstflush]

Consulting a forester or extension service is a good idea for sure. I would be cautious about adding too much compost under the trees, seems expensive for 4 acres and you don't want to raise the soil level.

Just the trees cared about…I’m talking locally sourced compost wheelbarrowed out with a shovel. Very specific
Buck a tree other than labor…

 

[just.wing.it]

Much appreciated input!

 

[Jzack605]

He has had professionals out there. They say it's emerald Ash borer.
His Ash trees went first, then the Oaks and Hickory trees....today he told me they killed an Eastern White Pine.

I also doubt they've been earing the Hornbeams too.
It just had me thinking that all those species have thick bark.
And I don't recall seeing Hornbeam or Beech having problems....or Chinese Elm or Crape Myrtle....American Sycamore.

Emerald ash borer is a species specific boring insect so it’s extremely unlikely that they are effecting the other species.

has there been any kind of site changes where the effected trees are? Borers are often a symptom of other stresses, but not always.

 

[just.wing.it]

Emerald ash borer is a species specific boring insect so it’s extremely unlikely that they are effecting the other species.

has there been any kind of site changes where the effected trees are? Borers are often a symptom of other stresses, but not always.

No changes to the site.
And apparently they do jump species once all of their preferred material is gone...according to the "professional tree doctor guys".

But honestly, he's been fighting them for about 5 years now, the tree people injecting the trees with stuff, and I don't even know what else.

I keep trying to push him to clear cut all of it, minus the 2 Sycamores and several Hornbeams (both of which are untouched by the bugs) and start over.

 

[Potawatomi13]

My question is, are there certain species of tree that are not known to be victimized by borers?

Perhaps Ironwood or Teakwood?

 

[penumbra]

Emerald ash borer is a species specific boring insect so it’s extremely unlikely that they are effecting the other species.

Wish this was the case but it is not at all true the the Emerald Ash Borer. Ash is its preferred host but it crosses species all the time.

 

[Jzack605]

It does cross to other species, but very rare. The major secondary host is white fringe tree and that’s about it for other hosts. So if you truly have a forest Situation that’s been determined to be having major effects from EAB I’d love to know how those tree doctors came to that conclusion. You’d also be having a major anomaly that I’m sure the USFS would love to hear about.

like I said there are other species of borers. There’s a native borer, I forget the name of, that hosts to ash that gets mistaken for EAB fairly frequently but I do not know if they have a wider range of hosts. Their entry/exit holes are usually bigger and less D shaped.

 

[just.wing.it]

It does cross to other species, but very rare. The major secondary host is white fringe tree and that’s about it for other hosts. So if you truly have a forest Situation that’s been determined to be having major effects from EAB I’d love to know how those tree doctors came to that conclusion. You’d also be having a major anomaly that I’m sure the USFS would love to hear about.

like I said there are other species of borers. There’s a native borer, I forget the name of, that hosts to ash that gets mistaken for EAB fairly frequently but I do not know if they have a wider range of hosts. Their entry/exit holes are usually bigger and less D shaped.

I'll see what I can find out! Thanks!

 

[penumbra]

Wish this was the case but it is not at all true the the Emerald Ash Borer. Ash is its preferred host but it crosses species all the time.

It does cross to other species, but very rare. The major secondary host is white fringe tree and that’s about it for other hosts.

Most most sincere apology for my erroneous post. I am guilty of not listening fully when my wife speaks sometimes. She says I have selective hearing.
The Emerald Ash Borer does indeed attack Virginia Fringe Trees. At this point it is the only tree other than ash that is confirmed a host, although there is some possibility that this very aggressive borer may occasionally act out of character. There are concerns that it will move onto other trees but it is not known to do so at this point.
My confusion occurred when she was talking about Spotted Lantern Fly and Emerald Ash Borer in the same conversation. The Lantern Fly, whose preferred feeding ground is Ailanthus, has moved on to Malus and other fruit trees and shade trees. It is expected to be devastating to grapes in our area which is a huge concern for hundreds of local vineyards.
As to the borer, it is interesting that all of our ash are dead now but our two native fringe trees seem completely unharmed.