I had a thriving lemon tree in a pot. It got too big, so I planted it in a protected area in my front yard. It was fine for a year, then leaves starte...
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Meyers Lemon problem #747701
Asked May 03, 2021, 2:07 PM EDT
I had a thriving lemon tree in a pot. It got too big, so I planted it in a protected area in my front yard. It was fine for a year, then leaves started dropping and it looked sick. I built a huge cedar box for it and transplanted it last year. It tried to come back, putting out leaves and blooms. Then I noticed something chewing on the bark!! I put a camera in it at night. It looked like something sort of like a centipede was quickly traveling the stems. I would go out with a flashlight- but nothing was there!
I read that latex paint might discourage chewing pests, so I sprayed latex on all of the chewed areas. Next day MORE chewing right through the paint! Over the winter my lemon just sat in the box looking so sad. I put nematodes in the soil and hoped. This spring lots of little leaves are forming and sprouting along with some flower buds! Then last night it was attacked again with the bark chewer! I sprayed with Neem oil, but it is so chewed up, I don’t know what to do! I can’t find anything on line to help. Any ideas???
If it was a centipede that you saw, that is not the problem as the centipede is a predator of insects and spiders.
You probably need to provide some sort of physical barrier, e.g., hardware cloth, chicken wire, plastic tree guards, to deter access to the tree bark. You could also try to provide a water source like a bird bath or bowl away from your tree/garden. Sometimes, these animals come to a yard looking for water and attack the bark to get to the moisture in the cambium layer. The cambium is also a source of nutrients and sugars that provide some food to these animals when other food is scarce. This lemon tree may be more susceptible due to its relatively thin bark.
