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Cedar tree with holes in bark #768829

Asked August 23, 2021, 7:35 PM EDT

Chris with PP&R Urban Forest Yard Tree suggested I contact you regarding my 70 year old cedar tree with bore holes in it. He believes it is a Port Orford Cedar. His comment was that there are some bark beetles and wood borers that will attack cedars and false cedars like this tree, however he did not find any that would leave such a large hole. He said the tree did not seem to be showing much in the way of crown dieback. Any input on how I should proceed would be appreciated.

Multnomah County Oregon

Expert Response

Hello, yes, that is interesting, and since the health of the tree looks good, I'm wondering if this could be from a red-breasted sapsucker.  These woodpeckers often excavate holes like this, and they are called sap wells.  The woodpeckers return to the holes and eat insects attracted to the sap or drink the sap.  In this case it may be that the woodpecker was just checking out the tree as they seem to hit just about every tree we have, conifer or hardwood.

Here is a website:  https://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/pathogen-articles/nonpathogenic-phenomena/recognizing-sapsucker-damage-your-trees

One way to find out is to carefully excavate these holes and see if they actually go into the wood, versus are superficial and only slightly wound the sapwood.

There are some wood borers that are common on western red cedar, and may infest port orford cedar.  One common one is the western cedar borer (Trachykele blondeli), but this one bores in through branches, not holes directly into the tree.

An Ask Extension Expert Replied August 25, 2021, 2:06 PM EDT

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