Have you seen pines in and around your neighborhood with brown patches? Some might be showing only hints of brown while others appear to be dead. There are many reasons why a pine tree might be experiencing browning, but one well-known culprit could be the pine engraver beetle.

Pine engraver beetles, like many insects, over-winter in the cambium layer of the tree (just under the bark). Female beetles create channels in the cambium layer where they will lay their eggs. The eggs hatch and live under the protective bark for several months, emerging as adults looking for tree debris where they can re-start their life cycle.

The pine engraver beetle does not look for healthy trees, but seeks out trees stressed or weakened by previous infestations or have suffered through previous drought. Symptoms of an infected tree include a rust colored dust in the bark crevices (a result of the beetle boring into the tree), channels under the bark (created by the females to lay their eggs) and browning of the tops of the tree (crowns). All are key indicators of the pine engraver beetle. Unfortunately, once a pine engraving beetle has settled into the pine tree, there is little chance of the tree surviving.

So how do you protect your pines from this damaging beetle? The first step is to keep your pine trees healthy. This requires routine watering, making sure that any fallen needles or limbs are raked up and kept away from around the tree, and finally, spraying healthy trees with an insecticide treatment to protect them. The insecticide treatment should be done by a certified pesticide technician who is trained in the proper handling and application of the insecticide.

Protect your valuable pines by calling the insect and disease experts at Arbor Masters of Ft. Worth/Dallas.

Ft. Worth/Dallas customers, take advantage of our April tree pruning special. April 1st through April 30th, 2015, Arbor Masters® is offering a 10% discount on all tree pruning and removals. Request a free estimate today!

*excludes stump removals 

It takes a trained and dedicated crew to succeed in the tree care  industry. It also takes powerful, heavy-duty machines to help get the job done. Our new Freightliner claw truck is clean idle certified, which means that these trucks are at the leading edge of clean diesel technology. This strict requirement is designated for any vehicle greater than 14,000 lbs. to control nitrogen oxide emissions while idle. Started in California, this regulation is being adopted by more and more states.