Cherry Tree Borer - Ask Extension
My cherry tree has sustained some sort of damage that I believe is from a borer. I'd like to know if that is in fact what it looks like and if there i...
Knowledgebase
Cherry Tree Borer #721813
Asked September 07, 2020, 5:10 PM EDT
My cherry tree has sustained some sort of damage that I believe is from a borer. I'd like to know if that is in fact what it looks like and if there is any way to save it. Thank you!
New Castle County Delaware
Expert Response
Cherry trees are susceptible to boring insects and the damage is often first seen by oozing sap coming out of a tree. The most common borer on cherry trees are sessids, a day flying clearwing moth. The next most common borer on cherry trees are bark beetles or shot-hole borers. The damage seen in your picture suggests neither one of these insect pest groups. Additionally, even if it was one or the other of these insect pests, the ideal time for treatment has past. The best method to manage for boring insects is to grow a healthy, happy tree. Unfortunately, trees in the mid-Atlantic area have been stressed since last summer and the effects are just being expressed.
The sessids that typically attack cherry trees attack close to the soil line or lower portions of the trunk. Their damage can cause the tree to weep. Your picture suggests the damage is much higher (too high) for peachtree borer. Another sessid, and much less common, will attack Prunus trees if they have suffered injury or at pruning sites/locations. The picture you provided does not suggest this tree has recently been pruned where the sap is coming out of the tree; consequently lesser peachtree borer is unlikely as the culprit.
Shot-hole borers (aka bark beetles) usually emerge from small holes in the trunk of the tree and rarely cause weeping as seen in you picture.
Activity of both types of borers occurs earlier in the year and the best time for management is during the adult flight period. Treatments usually try and prevent the the insect from entering the tree because once the insect gets inside the tree management is much more difficult.
At this time, I do not think you need to worry about the tree; however, I would document you saw damage at this time of year and research the insects I mentioned previously. Treatment opportunities exist when adults for these insects are active (early spring or early summer). There are many pest control operators/landscape maintenance companies in the mid-Atlantic that will assist with insects attacking trees and many times their initial visit is affordable.
The sessids that typically attack cherry trees attack close to the soil line or lower portions of the trunk. Their damage can cause the tree to weep. Your picture suggests the damage is much higher (too high) for peachtree borer. Another sessid, and much less common, will attack Prunus trees if they have suffered injury or at pruning sites/locations. The picture you provided does not suggest this tree has recently been pruned where the sap is coming out of the tree; consequently lesser peachtree borer is unlikely as the culprit.
Shot-hole borers (aka bark beetles) usually emerge from small holes in the trunk of the tree and rarely cause weeping as seen in you picture.
Activity of both types of borers occurs earlier in the year and the best time for management is during the adult flight period. Treatments usually try and prevent the the insect from entering the tree because once the insect gets inside the tree management is much more difficult.
At this time, I do not think you need to worry about the tree; however, I would document you saw damage at this time of year and research the insects I mentioned previously. Treatment opportunities exist when adults for these insects are active (early spring or early summer). There are many pest control operators/landscape maintenance companies in the mid-Atlantic that will assist with insects attacking trees and many times their initial visit is affordable.
