Pest infections occur when there is a susceptible host, like a damaged or decaying tree and a suitable environment, like moist, hot weather. This can attract disease-causing organisms, like fungi.

The treatment for tree diseases differs, based on the specific disease and state of the tree. It will usually include cultural practices, like changing irrigation or pruning because these diseases can be brought on or aggravated by improper watering or when air cannot move through the branches and leaves well. Also, some diseases can spread quicker when fallen leaves lay under trees and the spores can be released again the next season.

Here is a list of some common pests in Northeast Ohio and signs that they are infecting your trees.

• Needle Cast diseases
  These diseases are caused by different fungi that infect the needles of evergreen trees, like pines, douglas fir, and spruce. They form small structures on needles where thousands of spores reside. Infected needles change colors and eventually fall off.
• Powdery mildew
  This appears as a powdery white substance that has millions of fungal spores. It can infect many different plants.
• Apple scab
  This is a fungus that occurs in apple and crabapple trees. It affects both the leaves and fruit. Signs of apple scab include pale yellow or olive green spots on the upper portion of the leaves and dark spots on the lower portion. This can result in twisted, puckered leaves that fall off.
• Cedar apple rust
  This also occurs to apple and crabapple trees, but it can also affect junipers and red cedars. Symptoms include pale yellow spots on leaves that become orange over time. There may also be small black fungus that forms in these spots and excrete orange fluid.
• Thousand cankers disease
  This is caused by the walnut twig beetle, which burrows into the bark of walnut trees and creates cankers. Over time, repeated attacks and an increasing amount of cankers can disrupt water and nutrients moving through the tree and eventually kill it.
• Anthracnose
  This refers to a group of related fungal leaf and stem diseases. They can affect many different species of deciduous trees. Symptoms include small, dead spots on leaves, premature defoliation, and twig death.

Other pests include the Asian long-horned beetle, emerald ash borer, hemlock woolly adelgid, gypsy moth, and spotted lanternfly,

By working with a tree service company in Gates Mills like Vancuren Tree Service, you can get advice on how to fix the damage caused by pests, as well as advice on how to prevent them. Pests can be one of the most harmful things to affect your trees so learning how to properly prevent them is critical to the health and beauty of your trees.

Some common tree pests include aphids, scale insects, azalea lacewings, and spider mites.

Using pesticides may seem like a quick and easy method, and sure, it is. However, before you use pesticides, you may want to consider taking other steps first. In fact, there are already natural mechanisms in place to help trees and plants fight off insect invaders. One way this occurs is by beneficial insects. Insects like ladybugs, lacewings, praying mantises, and parasite wasps often consume these insect pests before they become an actual problem.

However, if for some reason, the problem isn’t resolving on its own, you may want to turn to pesticides. There are important things to understand before using pesticides, however. First, its effectiveness is reduced when you cannot get the pesticide in contact with all the pests. If you are unable to spray the entirety of the tree, you may want to consider a systemic insecticide. Systemic insecticides spread to the tree’s leaves and stems when applied to its roots. This way, it can kill insects through ingestion. Systemic insecticides may be applied to the leaves as well. Depending on the species of tree and how much damage it has endured, it may start to grow new leaves once the pests are dead.

Systemic insecticides are not the only option, of course. There are a variety of pesticides available and for different trees, they may be applied differently. For small, ornamental trees, you can put it in a spray bottle and spray as much of the tree as you can reach. For medium-sized trees, you can use a ready-to-use hose end sprayer. If the tree is a large shade tree, the best method is to apply the insecticide to the soil, over the tree’s roots.

Proper, routine maintenance of your trees is the best way to prevent infestations and working with a Kirtland Hills tree company like Vancuren Tree Service can help you do that. This will help keep your trees healthy, safe, and beautiful no matter what problem they may face.

So what is a pest? A pest is any creature that is considered “undesirable” to humans. This would be any organism that reduces the quality, availability, or value of a resource, in this case trees.. While it doesn’t reflect their importance in natural ecosystems, it expresses that they are at conflict with humans.

Pests can be organisms like insects, invasive species, or even weeds, which are considered to be plant pests. An organism becomes a pest when its population is no longer contained by natural regulators, like predators.

Pest management is used to reduce pest numbers to an acceptable amount. This usually means steps are taken to reduce the amount of pests while still being profitable, rather than complete eradication. There are many forms of pest management. Pest eradication refers to the complete removal of pests, although other methods are more viable.

Chemical pest management includes the use of insecticides, herbicides, and rodenticides. These chemicals are usually toxins and are used to affect the number of pests through indirect means, like releasing pheromones to disrupt breeding and mating behaviors. The downside to chemical pest management is the chemicals are often toxic to the pests’ natural enemies as well. It can also impact water supply, soil productivity, air quality, and the food chain.

Biological pest management means using a pest’s natural enemies for control. This is usually done when non-native species are no longer containable. Natural predators from the species origin are then brought in to help control the pest population. However, it is important to make sure this new species does not create additional threats in the environment.

Cultural pest management refers to any harvesting practices that prevent natural enemies from damaging crops every year. Intercropping can make it more difficult for pests to find a host plant. Sometimes, farmers may plant crops that attract pests away from the harvest crops. They may also delay planting times to coincide with times where pests have already died off for the season.

Physical pest management means manually or mechanically removing pests. This could also include installing barriers to keep pests out of crops and trees. Other examples are animal traps, sticky cards, handpicking, or spraying plants.

Genetic pest management is not as widely known or accessible. This usually means genetically modifying the plant so that it repels pests instead of attracting them.

Most of the time, integrated pest management is used. This mixes techniques from the different forms of pest management to create the most effective and affordable option for pest management. The use of chemicals is typically a last resort.

Protecting your trees from pests is a top priority. With the help of Hunting Valley tree pest management companies, like Vancuren Tree Service, you can control pest populations and ensure the health and safety of all the trees in your yard.

The main two tree pests you should look for are the Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) and the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB).

Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB)

Although August is the peak time for this type of beetle to emerge, it is possible that they may show up earlier, especially with the consistent hot temperatures in Cleveland right now.

• Appearance – One inch long, shiny black body with white spots; six legs; long back and white-striped antennae.
• Damage – These insects are capable of burrowing deep into your tree’s tissue, in other words, the main transport for water and nutrients. With the supply of food cut off, the tree will starve, weaken and then die. ALB are not known to be attracted to only one type of tree. These pests will burrow and cause problems in maples, mountain ash, poplar, willow, and several more.

Emerald Ash Borer

This beetle has harmed more than one million ash trees in the U.S. and Canada so if you have an ash tree on your property, definitely make sure to check your tree.

• Appearance – A metallic, bright green body that is no larger than a dime; six legs; short green antennae.
• Damage – Once EAB infests a tree the females lay eggs which then grow into larvae. While an infestation is bad, the real problem is when the larvae bore into the tree in order to feed off the nutrients underneath the bark. If this has happened to your tree you should be able to notice S-shaped tracks under the bark or D-shaped holes.Just like with an ALB infestation, the tree is unable to get enough nutrients and will eventually weaken and die.

With the full summer heat upon us in Cleveland, it can be easy to want to stay inside in the air conditioning all day, but all it takes is 10 minutes to walk around your property and check on your trees’ health. Call the team of experts at VanCuren Tree Services to get the best care for your trees. We also specialize in tree removal and tree trimming in the Cleveland area.