Battling the Bronze Birch Borer

The most vigorous and prominent pest right now in central oregon is probably the Bronze Birch Borer. The Bronze Birch Borer is affecting trees from Madras to Sisters, Prineville to Redmond. It's lifecycle is such that the beetle larva girdle the nutrient rich cambiums of the tree just under the bark where they feed concealed through several yearly generations until the tree is dead. Treatment involves pruning back trees that are in the primary stages of die off and then treating them in the spring to intercept the lifecycle of the beetle's larva before it compromises the tree beyond hope of recovery. the climate of central oregon adds to the stress levels of the trees as it's drought-prone conditions further open the trees to susceptibility to the attacks of the Bronze Birch Borer. On your own you can mitigate this by making sure that your birch trees are getting adequate water and that the competing turf grass is scaled back from the trip line of the trees as much as possible. Unfortunately, this is still no garauntee that the borer will not infest your trees. If you see signs of die off, immediately reach out to us. Early intervention is the only way the trees will be saved.