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Borers Are Trying To Infest Your Fall Trees

Resources: Seasonal Tree Care, Tree Problems

Tree Borers In FallAs summer ends and autumn starts to bring colder weather, trees begin to get numerous visitors looking for shelter. Some visitors are harmless and leave when spring emerges; however, some never leave and will feed on your tree until it is destroyed.

Unfortunately, wood boring insects are a part of the latter group.  Borers are one of the most destructive pests that plague a wide variety of tree species. The most common borers in the DC Metro area include the Asian Longhorned Beetle, Bronze Birch Borer, Emerald Ash Borer, and Ambrosia Beetle

How Do Borers Hurt My Tree?

Borers kill trees from the inside out. They do this by feeding on the vascular tissue, which reduces the tree’s ability to transfer energy and nutrients. In late summer, adult borers lay eggs on the bark of trees. When these eggs hatch they enter the tree through the bark and feed on its tissue all winter long. Once spring arrives borer larvae mature into adults, exit the tree, and start the process all over again. Since it can be hard to get borers to leave a tree the best plan of action is a preventative one.


“S”-Shaped Galleries From Emerald Ash Borer in an Ash Tree
“S”-Shaped Galleries where Emerald Ash Borers have eaten through the vascular tissue of an Ash Tree

Why Is This Time Of Year Important?

At this time of year, borers are looking for susceptible trees to enter and spend their winter in. By making your tree unappealing to borers in late summer and early fall, borers will find other trees to enter and feed on which stops the borer infestation before it begins.

Symptoms Of Borers:

  • Exit holes in wood
  • Sawdust looking material at the base of the tree
  • Flagging (dead sections in the top of the tree)
  • Crown dieback
  • Overall decline in health

It important to keep an eye out for symptoms of borers; however, if you wait until the signs of borers show up in the spring, the damage will have already occurred and gaining control of the borer will be more difficult. Our Arborists suggest using preventative treatments for susceptible trees.


Need Help With Fall Borers? 

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Or Call 703-573-3029


Susceptible Trees:

Borers typically target hardwoods such as oaks, maples, beech, and ash trees. However; the state of the tree is a more reliable signal of borer susceptibility than species.

Borers Target:

  • Mature/Old trees
  • Trees suffering from a disease or other insect infestations
  • Trees facing environmental stressors such as extreme temperatures, drought, flooding, and soil compaction.

How Do I Keep My Tree From Getting A Borer Infestation?

The most important step to preventing borer infections is having a borer spray applied to your tree. However, borers are known as secondary invaders, so keeping your tree healthy overall can deter borer infestations. Your arborist may suggest overall health treatments such as tree pruning, a bio-stimulant treatment, and soil decompaction, as well as a borer spray to combat borers this Fall.

Bio-Stimulant Treatment: Bio-stimulants are a combination of organic microbial inoculations that are injected into the critical root zone. They contain a natural blend of sugars, bacteria, humic acid, sea kelp extract and fungi that feed the soil and naturally fertilize the tree without the negative effects of over-fertilizing. This treatment will help fight borers by boosting your tree’s immune system.

Soil Decompaction: Soil compaction is common in our area. Compaction limits the amount of oxygen and nutrients your tree absorbs from the soil. This weakens your tree and makes it more susceptible to secondary invaders such as borers. Decompacting your soil through Aeration will allow your tree’s roots to absorb adequate nutrients, oxygen, and water which will strengthen the tree overall.

Tree Pruning: Regular pruning (every 3-5 years) will remove dead and diseased branches that put extra stress on the tree. Removing these decaying limbs will help the tree be less susceptible to fall borers.

Book your consultation online today or call 703-573-3029

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Google Reviews

Grey Burkhart
Grey Burkhart
March 29, 2022.
Verified
Very professional review of our requirements and an accurate estimate. Showed up on time and were finished quickly. Cleaned up all of the debris and sawdust. Great job all around.
Dennis Bruns
Dennis Bruns
March 8, 2022.
Verified
We have used RTEC Treecare for several years. They do excellent work. Their staff is extremely knowledgeable and take great care in explaining the various options available for your particular situation. I highly recommend them.
Annette Iannucci
Annette Iannucci
February 23, 2022.
Verified
We have been using RTEC for years and were very pleased with the recent tree maintenance work they did for us. As always, we got good advice from their arborist Ben,. The crew that did the work is highly skilled, and they did a great job trimming our trees. They worked safely and efficiently, in addition to leaving the yard clean after they finished the work.
Susan Crawford
Susan Crawford
January 26, 2022.
Verified
RTEC was at my house today to removed a large Magnolia that was badly damaged by the recent snow. They did a fantastic job at a very reasonable price. They arrived right on time, worked efficiently and quickly and cleaned up so well it was hard to tell anything have been disturbed. Over the past several years, I have used RTEC for all the services I checked above, and have always been very pleased with their service and professionalism. I also appreciate that they are not eager to take down trees that don't need to come down. In this case, the damage was too extensive for the tree to recover.
Kenton Morgan
Kenton Morgan
January 20, 2022.
Verified
Once again, RTEC has done a great job. The team showed up right on time and performed all the work that we agreed to. They kept us informed as to progress, coordinated with us concerning our maple, and made recommendations concerning ongoing support for our trees. At the end of the day, they thoroughly cleaned up the debris and left our yard in pristine condition. WELL DONE.
Jean Kluttz
Jean Kluttz
January 3, 2022.
Verified
Not our first time but this time was tricky removal of a large dead tree leaning on a healthy tree. Quick response for estimate, good timing to removal, all clear and healthy tree still fine.
Jerry Haggin
Jerry Haggin
December 16, 2021.
Verified
Very good work while ensuring that I was aware of status of my work order and planned completion.
Mike Iger
Mike Iger
December 16, 2021.
Verified
David Roberts
David Roberts
December 15, 2021.
Verified
We’ve used RTEC for many years for tree maintenance and can’t say enough good things about their service. We use them for tree trimming and for regular treatments to maintain our trees’ health and deal with pests and prevent disease. Their arborist Ben has been especially helpful with advice. RTEC also been especially helpful in emergency situations, once coming to cable a massive, heritage oak in our yard right before a hurricane was about to hit. Highly recommend.
Travis Larson
Travis Larson
December 10, 2021.
Verified
RTEC did an excellent job onsite of removing dead branches from our 80+ year old trees, and trimming other growth too close to our home.
Google rating score: 4.8 of 5, based on 185 reviews.

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