Apple borer

[chummer]

Finally found the mystery cause of death for two of my trees. As my luck would have it was my best two growing trees. A wolf river, and Viola crab. Both trees had 36” of screen on them. The borer went behind the screen. This is the third tree I have lost to these bastards. How do I stop them.

 

[chummer]

This viola was probably my best tree.

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[Bowsnbucks]

As Homerj said in the other thread about winter hardiness - paint the trunks with a mix of 1/2 white latex paint, 1/2 water, with some joint compound mixed in. Add some Permethrin ( insecticide ) to that mix and paint it on. I've seen a number of guys post this mixture and it does double-duty ………… protects against winter injury(sunscald), and the Permethrin repels bugs of all sorts. It's worth a try & doesn't cost much at all.

 

[chummer]

As Homerj said in the other thread about winter hardiness - paint the trunks with a mix of 1/2 white latex paint, 1/2 water, with some joint compound mixed in. Add some Permethrin ( insecticide ) to that mix and paint it on. I've seen a number of guys post this mixture and it does double-duty ………… protects against winter injury(sunscald), and the Permethrin repels bugs of all sorts. It's worth a try & doesn't cost much at all.

These trees had been painted and had screens on. The paint was put on 4 years ago and mostly gone. I guess I need to remove the screens and repaint?

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Chummer - Did you have Permethrin in the mixture ?? I don't know how long the effectiveness of it lasts in this paint mixture. If it were me, I'd re-paint the trunks with Permethrin in the mixture and see if that helps.

I don't think the aluminum screen keeps out ALL insects - some for sure - but it's mainly for rodent protection. The Permethrin is the insect repellent/killer.

 

[chummer]

Chummer - Did you have Permethrin in the mixture ?? I don't know how long the effectiveness of it lasts in this paint mixture. If it were me, I'd re-paint the trunks with Permethrin in the mixture and see if that helps.

I don't think the aluminum screen keeps out ALL insects - some for sure - but it's mainly for rodent protection. The Permethrin is the insect repellent/killer.

And I don’t have vols. I think I would be better off with no screens and paint every year.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

^^^^ Whatever works. No rabbits or snowshoes ??

 

[homerj]

These trees had been painted and had screens on. The paint was put on 4 years ago and mostly gone. I guess I need to remove the screens and repaint?

Two years is about max for paint longevity in my experience. Remove screens, re-paint, re-apply screens when paint is dry.

 

[homerj]

And I don’t have vols. I think I would be better off with no screens and paint every year.

Unusual. Range maps would indicate otherwise http://icwdm.org/handbook/rodents/Voles.asp

 

[Natty Bumppo]

And I don’t have vols. I think I would be better off with no screens and paint every year.

Chummer, borers have been the bane of my apple growing experience for the past 20 years. I lost many a tree when I first began and only now have learned how to fight them decently. As some others said...I paint the lower 2' every other year with a diluted whitewash with some kind of insecticide in it. I have never used screens, but I do use fencing to keep the deer away. I keep weeds and tall growing grass well away from the trunk. I mulch with small stone. And all of this still doesn't help 100%. Borers will get through the paint and will do damage. The most effective thing I do is monitor my trees for evidence of borers by examining the lower trunks for frass on a daily basis...maybe every other day. It's labor intensive and demands a lot of time...but it works almost 100%. I live on my land and I have 2 young labs that have to be walked anyway. I take a small piece of wire and a Leatherman with me. If I find frass I chase the god damn maggot with the wire until I pull out its crushed body on the wire. As long as I keep up with it I never get any damage or holes like the one you showed. If I do have some extensive damage I kill the borer or borers and then clean up and scrape away the damaged tissue with my knife. I seems to me like borer season is only late spring to mid summer, and that's when I focus my efforts. The white paint, if nothing else, makes the frass easier to see on a casual walk.

Sorry for the long post. I feel your pain!

 

[Appleman]

Finally found the mystery cause of death for two of my trees. As my luck would have it was my best two growing trees. A wolf river, and Viola crab. Both trees had 36” of screen on them. The borer went behind the screen. This is the third tree I have lost to these bastards. How do I stop them.

Could you please provide a picture showing "behind the screen". I have been using screening for many years without a problem. It may be how it was installed or opened up and was not corrected.

 

[chummer]

Could you please provide a picture showing "behind the screen". I have been using screening for many years without a problem. It may be how it was installed or opened up and was not corrected.

Unfortunately I took the screen off when I pulled the trees. That is how I found the holes. They were fast growing trees so it is very possible a staple or two popped and created an opening.

 

[chummer]

Unusual. Range maps would indicate otherwise http://icwdm.org/handbook/rodents/Voles.asp

I have a healthy population on Fisher, Fox, coyote, and prey birds maybe they keep them in check. Maybe they don’t like 6 months of snow. I do have moles but knock on wood no voles to date. At my house they run rampant and I have to trap them year round.

 

[chummer]

^^^^ Whatever works. No rabbits or snowshoes ??

I have snow shoes and they get over my fences but they don’t seem to girdle they just cut clean off. When that happens they are on 4’ or more of snow so they just end up pruining the tree.

 

[chummer]

Chummer, borers have been the bane of my apple growing experience for the past 20 years. I lost many a tree when I first began and only now have learned how to fight them decently. As some others said...I paint the lower 2' every other year with a diluted whitewash with some kind of insecticide in it. I have never used screens, but I do use fencing to keep the deer away. I keep weeds and tall growing grass well away from the trunk. I mulch with small stone. And all of this still doesn't help 100%. Borers will get through the paint and will do damage. The most effective thing I do is monitor my trees for evidence of borers by examining the lower trunks for frass on a daily basis...maybe every other day. It's labor intensive and demands a lot of time...but it works almost 100%. I live on my land and I have 2 young labs that have to be walked anyway. I take a small piece of wire and a Leatherman with me. If I find frass I chase the god damn maggot with the wire until I pull out its crushed body on the wire. As long as I keep up with it I never get any damage or holes like the one you showed. If I do have some extensive damage I kill the borer or borers and then clean up and scrape away the damaged tissue with my knife. I seems to me like borer season is only late spring to mid summer, and that's when I focus my efforts. The white paint, if nothing else, makes the frass easier to see on a casual walk.

Sorry for the long post. I feel your pain!

That time frame makes sense because these trees died mid summer. I am only up a couple times a month now so I will have to be more persistent with the paint. I thought I would be in the clear when the trees were 4-5 years old but it looks like those are the trees they target.

 

[homerj]

IME, diluted paint without the joint compound does nothing for borers. The joint compound is what seems to make the mix work. It is messy to apply, but it appears to be worth doing. The mix I use is quite stiff/thick when applied.

 

[chummer]

IME, diluted paint without the joint compound does nothing for borers. The joint compound is what seems to make the mix work. It is messy to apply, but it appears to be worth doing. The mix I use is quite stiff/thick when applied.

I will give it a shot.

 

[Mortenson]

Do you apply that mixture with a paint brush? Thanks.

 

[homerj]

Do you apply that mixture with a paint brush? Thanks.

Yes. I use the cheapest 4" brush I can find. When done using it it gets tossed. Buy another one the next time I need to paint trunks.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

That time frame makes sense because these trees died mid summer. I am only up a couple times a month now so I will have to be more persistent with the paint. I thought I would be in the clear when the trees were 4-5 years old but it looks like those are the trees they target.

You nailed it. I rarely have a problem with my trees in the first year or two or 3. Then by year 4 or 5 things become dangerous. Once the DBH of the tree is significant (6 or 7 inches or so) I have found that borer damage is almost nonexistent. Any if there is any, there is low risk of that damage causing death.