Starting in 2025, we will be doing business as The Davey Tree Expert Company. Learn More
The Dangers Of Tree Pests & Diseases
Misdiagnosis of tree pest problems will lead to ineffective results and higher expenses in the long run.
The consulting arborists at Maier Tree & Lawn are trained and educated to make a proper diagnosis with treatment recommendations that keep your trees, shrubs, and lawn healthy and beautiful.
We can utilize a broad-spectrum, systemic insecticide that insects ingest so they quickly stop feeding and die. These products work on many insects, including Japanese beetles, aphids, leafminers, pine tip moth, sawfly larvae, scale insects (soft scales), borers (including bronze birch borer and emerald ash borer), and more.
Tree disease management is also important in making the forest sustainable. If left unmanaged, diseases can devastate a community forest.
This was very evident in the 70's and 80's with the rapid spread of Dutch Elm Disease. Those communities that had management programs still have, to this day, beautiful elms on their boulevards and in their parks.
Common Tree Pests (Insects)
Tree-destroying insects often find and infect trees that are already diseased or otherwise stressed. There are three main categories of insects that can infest your trees:
- Sucking insects are equipped with mouthparts that allow them to pierce into plant tissues and then suck nutritional fluids from the plant. Generally, shrubs and ornamental trees fall victim to sucking insects.
- Chewing insects have powerful, sharp jaws, and they love to chew on leaves, flowers, and roots. Pines and spruces can fall victim to chewing insects like beetles and moths.
- Boring insects lay their eggs on a suitable host tree, which, in most cases, is already diseased or under some type of stress. As they feed and grow, their tunneling seriously damages or destroys the tissues that conduct water and sap, starving the tree of the required nutrients. Birch, oak, and ash trees can become victims of borers.
These tree insects often feed on stressed trees. The additional stress of an insect infestation can, in many cases, be the final blow that kills the tree.
Common Tree Diseases
Stress on a tree can come from many different environmental factors and creates weaknesses, allowing pathogens and disease to enter into the tree system. The most common types of tree diseases are foliage, stem, or root diseases.
- Foliage diseases are often fungal diseases that grow on and infect the leaves of trees. Many times, these diseases aren’t lethal and are mostly just unsightly. After the leaves drop in the fall, proper cleanup and disposal of fallen leaves can help prevent reinfection the following spring.
- Stem diseases are also generally fungal diseases. These diseases find their way into the vascular system of the tree, often resulting in the death of the crown of the limb or the entire tree. Removing an infected limb may prevent the disease from spreading.
- Root diseases also fall within the fungal disease category. These diseases are generally the most lethal because they affect the tree’s ability to absorb water from the soil. As the roots become infected, they become weak, leaving the tree susceptible to falling over.
Maintaining a tree’s environment and ensuring they don’t become stressed can and will greatly reduce the likelihood of infection.
Oak Wilt & Dutch Elm Disease
Oak wilt is a deadly root and insect-transmitted fungus that affects several species of oak. Using the proper fungicide, preventative steps can be taken to protect oaks from disease and even cure certain species that already have it.
Dutch Elm Disease is a deadly fungus spread by root grafts and several types of beetles that affects many of the elm tree species found throughout Minnesota.
Through the proper use of an appropriate fungicide, most elms can be protected from getting the disease. When dealing with elms in a wooded area, we are limited in what we can do, but it is still worth it to contact us to learn your options.
Browse Our Recent Blog Posts
Tree Pests
Winter Firewood Safety & Tree Pest Management In Rochester, MN
Maier Tree and Lawn encourage property and business owners alike to stay on top of firewood quarantines to help stymie the spread of tree pests and tree diseases across Minnesota.
Read More
Tree Disease
Limit The Spread Of Oak Wilt Tree Care
Reducing contact, providing health checkups, and treating symptoms all contribute to treatment plans that can prevent and treat diseases such as oak wilt and bur oak blight from infecting more trees on your Rochester, MN, property or in your neighborhood.
Read More
Tree Disease
Preventing Dutch Elm Disease With Post-Winter Vigilance In Winona, MN
Maier Tree and Lawn encourages homeowners to stay vigilant for tree diseases, especially if you they own any variety of elm tree near Winona, MN. Dutch elm disease is one of several tree diseases that can devastate a population of trees quickly and efficiently.
Read More
Tree Disease
Protecting Your Winona, MN, Trees From Winter Sunscald
Though winter presents quite a variety of challenges for trees across the state, sunscald is a type of tree damage that can fly under the radar.
Read More
Certified Arborists & An Accredited Company
Our certified tree doctors are committed to you and the health and safety of your trees. ISA Certified Arborists® have taken the opportunity to further their education and apply their advanced skills to every client interaction.
Maier Tree & Lawn is also recognized as an accredited tree care company. Our Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA) represents our position as a tree service company committed to safety, expertise and professionalism.
