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Oak Tree Borers Treatment DIY

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The magnificent and iconic oak tree suffers significant damage from a tiny and destructive insect pest named borers. If borer infestation is untreated, your beloved and beautiful oak tree can sadly die.

But don’t be afraid. Every problem has a solution! Here are 11 tree borer treatments to preserve your adorable oak tree for generations.

Protect Your Beloved Plant from the Disgusting Oak Tree Bugs

Our guide for oak tree borers treatment DIY aims to save your loved tree’s majestic shade and beauty from being the habitat of countless creatures. Our comprehensive advice includes learning to recognize this specific condition, its symptoms, and signs and using techniques and insecticides.

4 effective oak tree borers treatment DIY:

  1. Blend Neem Oil with water and apply it to the trunk.
  2. Combine 3-5 teaspoons of soap into a gallon of water and apply it to the trunk.
  3. Grow garlic around the oak tree.
  4. Spray the tree with Bordeaux Mixture, or Bacillus Thuringiensis.

Identify 4 Borers Species that Can Devast Your Oak Tree

Identifying 3 Borers Species that Can Devast Your Oak Tree

It is relevant to know that exists several species of this kind of insect and we can mention 3 of them:

1. Flat-Headed Appletree Borers

Flat-headed apple tree borers have characteristic oval body shapes and are small to relatively large beetles.

Flat-headed apple tree borers cause visible symptoms such as:

  • Tunnels under the bark of trunks and larger branches.
  • Damage intensifies on the sunny side and kills the young plants.
  • Stems and foliage begin to die from the tip of their leaves.
  • Leaves become less dense.
  • The bark is cracking.

The oak borer beetle loves to attack unhealthy, young, and stressed trees.

Solutions to prevent flat-headed apple tree borers infection:

  • Keep your oak tree healthy.
  • Prepare your tree with good fertilization.
  • Keep your tree nourished with water.
  • Control of moisture levels in the house will reduce the chance of infestation.

2. Twolined Chestnut Borer

The twolined chestnut borer is a slender, black beetle with a bluish-to-greenish tone, a long insect with two faint yellowish stripes along its back.

This pest initially attacks during the summer displaying visible symptoms like:

  • Dead leaves turning a brown color.
  • Twolined insects make holes through the bark.
  • Borers in trees can create a path inside, devastating the tree through the exit holes.

Since twolined chestnut borers are an invasive pest, you can prevent tree infestation by applying these methods:

  • Prune infested branches to control the insect population.
  • Cut and drastically remove infested branches to dry the infective agents.
  • Mark the infested area in the tree to treat it better.
  • Cap the infested holes.

3. Gold Spotted Oak Borer

Oh, the pesky Gold Spotted Oak Borer (GSOB), a beetle that’s been turning majestic oaks into mere shadows of themselves, especially in residential areas! 

Originating from Arizona, this little critter has a particular taste for oak trees, which has caused widespread concern among homeowners and environmentalists. 

The beetle targets weakened or stressed oaks, burrowing into their bark and disrupting the tree’s ability to transport water and nutrients. This often leads to the tree’s premature death, transforming once lush landscapes into dreary scenes.

Oaks are greatly affected in residential areas, as they have immense aesthetic and environmental benefits. From providing shade and cooling properties to being a critical part of the local ecosystem, the loss of these trees can significantly impact property values and local wildlife.

In fact, you can learn more about the environmental and cultural importance of oaks in our recent article.

Moreover, the spread of GSOB is challenging to control due to its inconspicuous nature and the difficulty of detecting infestations early. Homeowners are urged to look for signs of distress in their oaks, such as thinning canopies, D-shaped exit holes, and increased woodpecker activity, as these could indicate the presence of this unwelcome visitor.

4. Oak Longhorn Borer

The oak longhorn borer has a distinctive metallic appearance; it is a fast-moving beetle with a flat thorax and short antennae.

This pest makes curving tunnels destroying phloem and presenting these evident damages:

  • Bark destruction.
  • Wood turns into a black color.
  • Oval exit holes.
  • Accumulation of wood fibers.
  • Excretion at the base of the tree.

This oak borer beetle can cause severe damage; the clue is to treat the tree disease before the end of its lifecycle:

  • Doing weekly inspections.
  • Applying internal injection to cover the affected areas.
  • Removing the dust from the holes and fill them with a timber injection gel.
  • Capping the holes.
In addition to these 3 oak borers, 5 other bugs can kill your trees. So, you need to be aware of any signs of infestation.

Preventing Oak Tree Borer Infestations Is Better Than the Cure!

If you love your trees and you want to have them healthy, you need to do these simple and proven prevention practices:

  1. Select the right tree and plant it in the right place. Remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Choose the most suitable oak tree for your zone between all oak tree species. Then all you have to do is to provide water and nutrients.
  2. Maintenance is essential to keep your tree healthy. For that reason, pruning is a habit that you need to practice regularly. This process will provide vigor to the damaged branches and can avoid injuries to people while they are doing landscaping tasks.
  3. Show your tree real love by providing the specific quantity of water needed, especially during periods of scarcity. Add mulch around the tree to provide nutrients and soil moisture.
  4. Pay attention to your trees, inspecting them regularly to see if you notice signs of infestations, such as holes, tiny wood particles, frass, crown dieback, and changes in the natural color of your majestic oak tree.

We emphasize prevention because although you can save your oak tree with borers, it can take time and effort while your tree suffers.

Learn the 7 Most Effective Oak Tree Borers Treatment DIY

You need to invest time to protect your beautiful oak tree by applying these powerful DIY treatments:

  1. Use a knife to expose and remove larvae or pupae beneath the bark.
  2. Destroy the infested branches through pruning exercises. This practice cleans the affected areas. Make sure to dispose of the branches to avoid re-infestation.
  3. There is perfection in everything created in life. Nature takes care of you to keep pests out. You only have to encourage natural predators, such as birds and parasitic wasps, to control oak tree bugs.
  4. Microscopic worms are potential predators of borer species, too. Apply these beneficial elongated cylindrical worms parasitic to the soil around the tree during the larval borer stage to help your oak tree reduce the bore population.
  5. To reduce the borer population, you can try pheromone traps to capture the insects and prevent the progress of infestation. The ideal time to install these traps is early spring, before their emergence.
  6. Depending on the borer species, carefully use a suitable insecticide against the pest. Apply the product following the instructions. Some chemical insecticides contain permethrin or carbaryl, which are highly effective in exterminating oak tree borers. Spray directly mixed with an absorbing agent such as linea alkane. This method kills not only the active borer but also the eggs.
  7. The trunk or tree injection is the last resource method for severe infestations. An insecticide like imidacloprid or emamectin benzoate must be injected directly into the tree’s vascular system. This practice requires professional application using specialized equipment and expertise.

Extends Your Oak Tree Life Expectancy with Our Tips

Trees are noble living organisms. But sometimes, they become hosts of disgusting bugs. Borers can destroy the majesty of your oak tree. But you’ll have to fight back for your tree.

The best and most important advice in this article is to focus on the care and invest your time, paying particularly close attention to the infection signs on your beautiful oak trees more than any treatment.

Follow our oak tree borers treatment DIY. As a result, you will have your charming oak tree for generations.

Joe Marra Tree Service provides tree care services in Oak Ridge, Oakland, Wayne, West Milford, Pompton Lakes, and Ringwood, NJCall us for professional tree care!

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