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baileybear_gw

Texas Ebony

baileybear
13 years ago

My Texas Ebony has something. It has small holes in the trunk. Tree guy said it is hard beetle bores. Anyone else have something like this. Any suggestions on treatment. He was going to spray and trim it for $400. I just don't have that kind of money. Any suggestions for a spray. It is about 25 feet high, 13 years old. Multi-trunked. A very pretty tree but I am afraid I will lose it.

Thanks

Comments (3)

  • nmgirl
    13 years ago

    Does it have a lot of borer holes? Where are the holes? In the trunk? Large branches? Unfortunately, Texas ebony is considered prone to borer damage esp. by flatheaded borers/metallic wood boring beetles.
    Borers are considered secondary invaders, they attack trees that are already unhealthy or stressed. The best way to combat borers is to keep the tree as healthy as possible esp. avoiding water stress. A well watered tree can produce enough free flowing sap to 'drown" or push out invading borer larvae. The problem with borers is by the time you see the holes the damage is done. The beetles have left the tree and there's nothing you can do about them now.
    What chemical is the tree guy going to spray and why is he going to do it? Chemical treatment are usually ineffective against borers.Sprays only kill the insects which happen to be on the tree at the time and obviously don't effect any already under the bark. Systemics have limited effeciveness on borers and tree injections are terribly expensive for the results they yield.
    You mentioned it's a multi-trunked tree, do all the trunks show borer damage? You might be able to trim out the infested parts, be sure to destroy any infested wood. Even if it's possible to trim out the borers you need to find what's causing the tree to be unhealthy and improve the situation.
    Good luck.

  • baileybear
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks NMgirl for the post.

    We wanted to see what happened to the texas ebony. We had it trimmed and it slowly began to die. We had it removed today. I sure hated to see it go.

    You could see that inside each of the mutiple trunks that the tree had been damaged by the beetle bores.(?)

    From what you said and what I have read there should be none left in the ground like a disease as Texas root rot or something.

    Can I assume it is safe to plant another tree (Not texas ebony) near that location without any problems. It sounds like these bores come in do there thing then leave.

    Thanks for all your help. I could have seen us cutting each trunk at a time trying to save the tree and it was damaged already in all the trunks. It saved us a lot of money getting it out now. Thanks again.
    BB

  • nmgirl
    13 years ago

    Replanting shouldn't be an issue. Since you know there are borers in the area do your research and choose a replacement not as attractive to the beetles.
    You don't mention where you live but perhaps the link below will be helpful.
    Sorry you lost your tree.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Online tree guide

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