It can be frustrating to have a pest infestation in our homes. They buzz around our heads, damage our property, contaminate our food, and at times, even get us sick. A pest infestation is even worse for a tree. Like an invading disease, bugs can enter a tree and severely damage it. Knowing how to protect your trees from pests is essential to keep your trees thriving, so allow us to teach you a little bit about proper tree protection for the Austin, TX, area.
Types of Pests
It can be difficult to imagine something as small as a beetle taking down something as big as a tree. Understanding how insects can harm a tree may help you protect them. There are three main types of pest you have to be wary of around your tree, including:
- Burrowing Insects: These insects burrow into a tree, feeding on its tissue, cutting off its access to water, and laying eggs.
- Sucking Insects: These insects suck nutrient-rich fluids from trees, leaving it without the nutrients it needs to survive.
- Defoliating Insects: These insects chew or eat the leaves, flowers, buds, and fruit of trees.
Insects become active beginning in early March and continue until the weather gets cold again. So the early spring is the perfect time to begin pest prevention for the best possible tree protection.
Protecting Your Trees
Inspect Your Trees
You can’t protect your trees from pests if you don’t know they’re there. Once bug season begins, it’s important to begin periodically checking your trees for insects. Other than seeing the insects themselves, signs of tree infestation include:
- Boreholes in the bark
- Discoloration in the leaves
- Thinning foliage
- Strange leaf size
- Irregular growth patterns
If you see these things, contact an arborist immediately for an assessment.
Good Watering Practices
A healthy tree is far more resilient against the ravages of insects. This means avoiding scenarios that will put undue stress on the tree, such as dehydration. Being intentional about watering trees and applying mulch during drought conditions will help give your trees the best chance at success. On the other hand, oversaturation can also stress a tree, so be sure that the yard is well-drained.
Regular Pruning
Along the lines of making sure trees remain healthy is pruning trees regularly. Pruning trees promotes airflow and allows sunlight into all corners of the tree, promoting tree health. However, in the immediate moments after pruning, they are more prone to insects, so pruning at the right time of year is essential, as is pruning the trees in the right place.
The experts over at SID Mourning Tree Services provide excellent tree protection in Austin, TX, to help promote the health of all your trees.