When you plant trees in your property, it becomes your responsibility to take good care of them by providing the tree with water and fertilizer, as well as pruning them regularly. However, even with proper care and maintenance, trees are not immune to pests.
Tree pests in summer pose a serious threat to Toronto trees. To protect them from harmful and destructive bugs, you need to take precautionary measures and maintain their health. Pest control is another great solution to eliminating bugs that kill trees and should be a part of your tree care and maintenance routine.
Types of Pests
Tree pests can be classified into 5 types, depending on how they cause injury on the tree:
- Defoliators – This type of tree pest is responsible for the functional loss of leaves by destroying the chlorophyll-bearing tissues. Defoliators can be further classified as:
- leaf chewers, which feed on the whole leaf tissues
- leaf skeletonizers, which consume the leaf’s soft, outer tissues while leaving the skeletal network of veins
- leaf miners, which eats away the leaf’s succulent interior tissues while making a tunnel between the upper and lower surfaces
- Borers – Tree boring insects, such as maple and cherry tree borers are often found in the inner bark and wood and cause a deformity in certain areas and weakening the supporting leaves.
- Sucking insects and mites – This type of tree pests feed on the cell sap of the tree, which causes devitalization, wilting, distortion, and discolouration of the parts attacked.
- Gall-makers – Gall-maker activities, such as feeding, laying eggs, and injection of toxins, can cause abnormal growth in plants as a reaction to stimuli or irritation. Galls are known for its characteristic and location of the host. However, gall-makers usually affect the appearance rather than the health of the tree.
- Root-feeders – Root-feeder insects feed on the roots of trees. Seedlings and transplants are most susceptible due to their limited root system.
Tree Pests that Need to be Treated in Summer
Various insects and bugs can cause damaging effects on the trees in summer. To protect your trees from these pests, you need to watch out for warning signs and symptoms of these common tree pests. If not detected immediately, pest issues can weaken your trees and shorten their lifespan. The earlier you identify the problem, the sooner you can provide a pest control solution to get rid of the pests.
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Apple-and-Thorn Skeletonizer
This insect attacks various types of fruit trees, such as apple, quince, hawthorn, and purple plum. The apple-and-thorn skeletonizer is usually active between July and September. Watch out for rolled-up edges of the leaf that are fastened together with silk as the larvae feed everything inside the fold except the larger veins and lower epidermis.
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Emerald Ash Borer
This invasive beetle is native to China and has attacked and killed millions of Ash trees in North America since 2001. An adult emerald ash borer can grow 1.2 inches long and has a shiny green body. This pest often thrives in the base of the trunk. Infected trees have yellowing leaves and often lose them in the canopy.
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Birch Leafminer
Adult birch leafminer is a tiny black sawfly, which usually emerges from the soil in mid-May. Females usually lay eggs soon after leaves start to unfold from the bud and insert each egg into the tender leaf tissues. When the eggs hatched, the larvae feed between the upper and lower leaf surface of the leaf to form mines. The second generation of birch leafminers often comes out in July. Unlike the first brood which causes major tree damage as it attacks the tender spring foliage, the second brood only affects the newly developing leaves in the peripheral of the crown and stunt the tree’s growth.
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Gypsy Moth
A notorious defoliator that attacks oaks, poplar, birch, and different types of both hardwoods and confiners, the gypsy moth lays eggs in masses of 100 or more that are covered with a mat of buff-coloured hairs of the female’s body. The eggs usually overwinter on the tree bark and other protected areas and hatches in the spring. While the larvae climb up the tree to feed on the foliage during the day, matured caterpillar feed during the night. This pest often spread depending on the buoyancy of the young caterpillars blown by the wind.
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Yellowneck Caterpillar
This pest often attacks and damages a variety of deciduous trees (such as birch, elm, and serviceberry) and fruit trees. A cluster of eggs can be found on the underside of the leaves and hatch by early August. The larvae cause damage by feeding on the foliage and cause serious damage to twigs and branches, while newly hatched caterpillars feed and skeletonize the leaves’ lower surface. Older caterpillars consume the entire leaves except for the stems. Infestation can weaken or even kill small trees if they become seriously defoliated.
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Black Vine Weevil
Also referred to as the Taxus weevil, the black vine weevil are known pests to yew, hemlock, white cedar, pine, and spruce trees. They often emerge from the soil between late June and early July to feed on the foliage. Infested trees have crescent-shaped notches in the margins of the needles, especially in the areas closest to the soil on the plant’s innermost portions. Female Taxus weevil deposit their eggs in the soil. Once hatched, larvae feed on the roots of the tree. Make sure to also check for these tiny black bugs on the tree trunk. This pest can instantly kill newly transplanted stock when infested.
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Scleroderris Canker
This fungus attacks young pine trees, particularly red and Scotch pine. However, trees over 2.5 metres high usually recover from the disease. Check for signs of reddish-orange discolouration at the base of the needles in May or June. This indicates infection. Also, the needles and the tips of the branch turn yellow to brown. As the fungus grows inward, it kills one internode of a branch each year and green stains grow under the bark of the cankers. Harmful tree insects and diseases go together if not prevented. Protect your trees from these harmful and destructive pests in summer by calling Dave Lund Tree Service & Forestry Co Ltd at (905) 884-0511 to speak with a professional tree service contractor in Richmond Hill today.
