- Spruce Trees

If you live in Summit County you have see blue spruce trees with dead tops due to pine tip weevils or brown branch tips caused by woolly aphids.

Weevils

Weevils have one generation each year. The adults over winter underneath the trees. In spring they emerge and crawl or fly to the top leaders of the tree - mostly spruces. There they mate and bore holes in the bark. The female lays eggs in the holes. Larvae hatch and live under the bark feeding on the fluid from the tree. This kills the branches above the feeding location. In late summer the new adults leave - their damage complete.

Treatments:
Just want peace of mind? Have us give the trees a systemic insecticide. This is placed in the ground in late fall or early spring. I moves throughout the tree and kills the feeding adults and larvae. This treatment lasts a year and is applied safely to the soil - no risk of drift to people and pets.

To late for the systemic? Then spray in May - June. Timing must be when the adults are in the tree and this must be done 2 times - more if it rains just after spraying - too late and the larvae are safely inside.

Missed the time for the previous choices? Watch your spruces for any sign of wilting tops and prune to prevent further damage. Prune until there is no brown found under the bark. If the layer just under the bark is brown, prune more - it should be green. Dispose of the infested branches.

Wooly aphids (Adelgids) cause pine galls

On the left are galls on a spruce tree. Don't mistake the symptoms on the right for galls - this is just frost damage - it crumbles easily.

The wooly aphid is about the size of a fruit fly. It lays eggs on the tender new growth on the tips of spruces. Then it secretes a growth hormone into the tree and causing the gall to form. Break one open mid summer and find that the aphid larvae are inside - safe, secure and fed by the tree. This is not a life threatening problem for the tree - mostly a conmetic issue.

Treatment: The same systemic insecticide that is used for weevils. Again late fall. Missing that, a spray in May and June.

Spruce spider mites.

Voracious little things. These little guys are hit and run artists. They multiply very quickly. Check weekly for mites by shaking a branch over a sheet of paper. Are there little spots on the paper? Are they moving? If you brush your hand over them do they leave smears of red or green blood? If so you have mites. Hit them with a strong spray of water to dislodge them. If they continue to be a problem, we can spray them with a special mitecide that kills the destructive ones but leaves the beneficial mites. It is very important to not hurt the beneficial mites because they help control the population of damaging mites. Without the good ones, populations of the bad guys can explode very quickly.

Nutrition

Spruces are the hardest hit by a lack of water and fertilizer. They need an adequate supply of trace metals. This was the primary reason for developing the BioMax formulation.

see the watering and BioMax pages for more.


435.901.1992 or 800.304.1878

Updated 2005.08