Ashley Adair is the Montgomery County Extension Educator, Ag and Natural Resource. The office is at 400 Parke Ave., Crawfordsville; 364-6363. She may be reached by email at holmes9@purdue.edu.
August is National Tree Check Month. What does that mean for you?
As we head into fall, we often start to notice specific issues with our trees. Long stretches without rain and high temperatures can be stressful on trees just like it can be stressful on the rest of us. House calls for tree problems have been on the rise at the extension office, many of them related to drought stress, storm damage and foliar diseases. While not every tree problem is cause for alarm, there are some specific issues to look out for that could become serious. National Tree Check Month is the perfect time to take a closer look at your trees and identify issues before a problem potentially gets out of hand.
When you’re getting out there to check your trees, make sure you have an idea of what type of tree you’re looking at. Knowing whether your tree is a sycamore, an oak, or a spruce will help you identify specific problems for each type of tree. There are also certain pests that affect certain species. For example, emerald ash borer is a pest only of ash trees, and sudden oak death is a disease that kills oaks (but can be carried by other species, like rhododendron).
In addition to knowing what kinds of trees you have, here are a few other specific problems to watch out for:
• Is your tree oozing sap? Sap ooze at this time of year can be an indicator of an infection or a pest.
• Are there holes in the trunk? Holes in the trunk that are all a similar size can indicate that you have a boring insect living in the tree. Boring insects can negatively affect the health of the tree in a short time.
• Is your tree losing limbs unexpectedly? Sometimes healthy limbs will come down in a storm, but if your tree is starting to lose limbs unexpectedly, it is a good idea to investigate more closely or call a professional to investigate. Limb loss is a safety issue!
• Are leaves looking sticky or chewed up? Many types of insect pests eat leaves, including the Japanese beetle, which will leave leaf skeletons where healthy leaf tissue once was. However, there are some other pests that can cause leaves to become sticky. If you find an insect you have never seen, make sure to consult with a professional to identify it. It could potentially be an invasive insect, like the spotted lanternfly or Asian longhorned beetle.
Speaking of invasive species, we are on the lookout for spotted lanternfly and Asian longhorned beetle in Indiana. While neither has been confirmed in Indiana, there is a risk that they will spread from nearby and neighboring states. Spotted lanternfly was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2014 and has since spread to New York and New Jersey. The Asian longhorned beetle has been found in several areas in the U.S., the closest to us being Chicago. If you ever have a question about insect ID, the extension office can help! If you suspect that you have an invasive species on your property, you can consult with the extension office and report to the DNR’s invasive species hotline at 1-866-633-9684.
