Register  |   | 
 
Encanto Farms Nursery > Topics > Fig Tree Borers HELP
 
 


Reply
  Author   Comment  
MaryMary

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 25
Posted Reply with quote  #1 
7 yr old fig trees infested with fig borers, can my trees be saved? Washington, DC

Attached Images
jpeg image.jpg (257.58 KB, 142 views)
jpeg image.jpg (621.36 KB, 224 views)


__________________
Varieties I own in ground: Adriatic, Blue Celeste, Brown Turkey, Celeste.
My Avi is from a mixed media painting by me of one of my Blue Celeste Figs as seen in better days.
I live 17 miles from the White House, just outside the beltway Zone 7

Rewton

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 1,946
Posted Reply with quote  #2 
Ooh - scary stuff and so close to where I live!  I have yet to see this, fortunately.  Hopefully you will get some good advice here on the forum.

By the way, welcome to the forum Mary.  What kind of figs are you growing?
__________________
Steve MD zone 7a
needaclone

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 604
Posted Reply with quote  #3 
Mary,
  Ugh, that is heart-breaking!  Do a search on the forum for Ambrosia Beetles and/or Shothole Borers and you'll find 3 or 4 threads within the last month or two discussing these things.
I have been doing battle with these buggers as well.
  I recently received a large caliber container tree that was infested and cut to within 2 inches of the base by the previous owner.  Even the remaining 2 inches of trunk had active borers, and a couple of the larger exposed roots had one or two holes.   I am planning on cutting it flush to the ground so that it can regrow from the roots.  I've been spraying it with insecticide -- really saturating the bark, holes and sawdust plugs so that it soaks in and reaches the beetles.  Two applications has taken care of the majority of the active buggers (i.e. they're no longer pushing out sawdust and are presumed dead.)  I need to do one more application for 2 or 3 holes that remain active.  Then I'll cut it flush to the ground, check for signs of borers down into the roots, and spray it again.
  alanmercieca has some recent threads that deal specifically with cutting/treating large caliber trees.  He is trying out the technique of using a drill bit to drill out the holes and remove the buggers and the fungus they leave behind.  I've used the drill bit to just clear out some of the sawdust so that the insecticide I've sprayed will work its way into the holes better. 
  It looks like the borers have only found your tree within the last couple of days, so if there aren't too many holes you can try to do this treatment.  Otherwise, the tree might ultimately have to be cut to the ground.  You've already got buds/shoots coming up from the base, so that's a good sign!  You also might want to take some cuttings and start some air layers.  (You could take a bunch of cuttings and just stick them in the ground as a "Hail Mary.")  Painting the trunk to stop additional borers might be worthwhile, too. The tree won't die overnight, so you have time to take action.
  It is hard to tell from the pictures, but it doesn't look like any buggers have drilled into the trunk within the first couple of inches.  So, you may be in the same boat that Alan is in -- cut the tree, paint the stump, and watch it regrow!
  Good luck and keep us posted!
Jim

P.S. The majority of my trees and cuttings are still in my living room -- I don't even want to put them outside because these borers are actively flying around my area! 



__________________
Clarksburg, NJ - Zone 6b Wishlist - A wise man recommended: Nero600M .  Malta Black . Tacoma (Takoma) Violet . Gino's . Adriatic JH  . Vista Mission . Florea . Atreano .  ...also...RdB, Bethlehem Black, Negronne, Grise de St. Jean, Livano, Col de Dame Blanc/Gris/Noir, Vasilika Sika, Longue D'Aout, Italian 258, Pennsylvania 6-5000
MaryMary

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 25
Posted Reply with quote  #4 
Thank you for welcoming me to the forum, I am so happy to have found you all! I am uncertain of my fig tree variety as one tree (pale purple skin/red flesh) was a rescue from a friends property and the other (bright green skin/deep raspberry colored flesh, the sweetest thing I have ever tasted)was a propagated sucker off another friends tree. Over the past 7 years we've had a good yield and the trees have grown to 15 feet with a luscious green canopy. How 'bout you? What kind do you grow and how many do you have?

I am devastated by the infestation of these wood borers. I hope someone has some helpful advice!
__________________
Varieties I own in ground: Adriatic, Blue Celeste, Brown Turkey, Celeste.
My Avi is from a mixed media painting by me of one of my Blue Celeste Figs as seen in better days.
I live 17 miles from the White House, just outside the beltway Zone 7
Rob

Registered:
Posts: 550
Posted Reply with quote  #5 
I bet those aren't caused by any type of insect.  More likely root primordia:

http://www.figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/root-initials-or-fungus-on-fig-cuttings-6144918
__________________
Rob
Maryland Zone 7
http://rbfigs.webs.com/
Rewton

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 1,946
Posted Reply with quote  #6 
Mary, you should post photos of the leaves and fruit (both whole and showing the "eye" and cut into halves) on the forum and see if your unknown figs can be identified.  Needaclone has posted some good advice; best of luck getting rid of the borers.
__________________
Steve MD zone 7a
MaryMary

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 25
Posted Reply with quote  #7 
Thanx needaclone, really useful information. Question, when I paint the trunk, am I keeping the bugs in, keeping them out? Or starving them from oxygen?
__________________
Varieties I own in ground: Adriatic, Blue Celeste, Brown Turkey, Celeste.
My Avi is from a mixed media painting by me of one of my Blue Celeste Figs as seen in better days.
I live 17 miles from the White House, just outside the beltway Zone 7
needaclone

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 604
Posted Reply with quote  #8 
Rob -- those are definitely not root primordia.  It is without a doubt the compacted sawdust being pushed out by Ambrosia Beetles (or perhaps more specifically, Shothole Borers) as they tunnel into the tree.
Mary -- The purpose of painting the trunk would be to create a barrier that will discourage new borers from digging new holes -- i.e. keeping them out.  I would not rely on it to kill the beetles that are in there.   (Alan's threads had more information about painting the trunk.) 
  Again, if there are a reasonable number of holes, you can try to treat each one.  I actually caught a bunch of beetles as they were just getting started, and I used a hat pin to probe the hole to crush them and pull them out.  You could try a hat pin, but Alan's idea of using a small drill bit is good because it would clear the hole of sawdust and allow insecticide to get in and kill the beetles.  Once the beetles get in, lay eggs and the larva hatch, most sources of information say there's not much to do but cut down the tree.  So, you might be able to make a "tactical strike" and kill them before they get to that point.
  Definitely do that search and read through the other threads.  (I'd look for them and post the links, but I'm at work...)
  Also, it has been noted that the beetles tend to go for weak/sick trees and not healthy ones.  One source of information said that stressed out trees that are getting too much water will give off ethanol (ethyl alcohol) that attracts the beetles.  (I have been using ethanol "rubbing alcohol" in some beetle traps, and I can tell you that it very definitely attracts the beetles!)  It is hard to tell from the picture, but maybe the tree is getting too much water.  (There's a little pill bug on the trunk in one pic -- they like damp places.)  All the rain we've gotten on the east coast this spring, in addition to the rainy spring we had last year, is probably not helping matters!
  I have made beetle traps out of milk jugs, and they seem to work better than the literature suggests the will.  They're giving me some peace of mind that I'm keeping at least some of the beetles away from the trees. 
Jim
__________________
Clarksburg, NJ - Zone 6b Wishlist - A wise man recommended: Nero600M .  Malta Black . Tacoma (Takoma) Violet . Gino's . Adriatic JH  . Vista Mission . Florea . Atreano .  ...also...RdB, Bethlehem Black, Negronne, Grise de St. Jean, Livano, Col de Dame Blanc/Gris/Noir, Vasilika Sika, Longue D'Aout, Italian 258, Pennsylvania 6-5000
Rob

Registered:
Posts: 550
Posted Reply with quote  #9 
Before we go nuclear on these beetles, are we sure they are actually doing significant damage to live fig trees?  I saw them the other day on a very large and old fig tree nearby.  Thing is though, I think it got killed to the ground level this past winter.  So they're effectively eating dead wood. 

I have 100 fig trees in pots, and not one is showing any sign of these beetles.  Also I don't understand some of the stuff I've read in that other post about them going after 1 inch growth.  In the picture above, as well as the old tree nearby, they were going into growth that looks at least 4 inches in diameter. 
__________________
Rob
Maryland Zone 7
http://rbfigs.webs.com/
needaclone

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 604
Posted Reply with quote  #10 
Rob,
  I do honestly hope you'll never have to deal with them.  I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

  I have one tree that never broke dormancy last year.  Did the beetles come first and kill the tree, or did they move into dead wood? I don't know.
  I have a live tree that has multiple areas that are slowly being killed by the beetles, by the larva eating the cambium layer, or by the fungus the beetles "farm" blocking off the flow of nutrients.  Which of those three things is causing the damage?  I don't know, but it is a live tree with multiple dead spots and it has beetles.  I have no reason to believe that tree was stressed out or sick at all.
  I have another tree that was very stressed out this winter due to dehydration.  It was not dead, branch tips were dry, but roots were good.  It is not a dead tree, but the beetles were drawn to it like a magnet, leaving other trees nearby untouched.  Later, when the other waves of beetles started emerging, they were showing a lot more interest in my other "healthy" trees.  One could argue that maybe the trees are stressed in one way or another.  But they were definitely not dead.
  I have seen first hand (i.e. my eyes looking at my trees) beetles boring into trees/branches 1" diameter and less...actually, on branches down between 1-8"-1/4" diameter!!  Perhaps these beetles didn't read the literature about how they were supposed to behave ;-) 
  I've seen them going for Fig trees and redbud trees.  They're also in the HUGE oak trees in my yard, and in one other species of tree, too. 
  I don't mean to sound snippy at all -- I'm just stating my observations succinctly and maybe to the point of overkill.
  Bottom line, though, is that they just aren't drawn to dead trees.  They're also drawn to stressed out trees.  If I have stressed out trees, I'd like to un-stress them and make them happy, not give them up for dead. 
  And if there are enough beetles and not enough stressed-out trees to go around, will they go for the healthy trees?  I'm already taking a gamble by leaving 3 of my healthy trees out there with the beetles, but I don't want to take a risk and put the rest out!
Jim
 
__________________
Clarksburg, NJ - Zone 6b Wishlist - A wise man recommended: Nero600M .  Malta Black . Tacoma (Takoma) Violet . Gino's . Adriatic JH  . Vista Mission . Florea . Atreano .  ...also...RdB, Bethlehem Black, Negronne, Grise de St. Jean, Livano, Col de Dame Blanc/Gris/Noir, Vasilika Sika, Longue D'Aout, Italian 258, Pennsylvania 6-5000
MaryMary

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 25
Posted Reply with quote  #11 
Yes needaclone, there is saw dust activity I am able to push a thin gauge wire into each hole, about an 1/8 to 1/4 inch. Late last summer 2013 there were heavy rains when I first noticed the trees were in distress. The branches were girdled and cracked and with each wind the branches, which were beautifully leafed and loaded with figs would literally just break off at the joints and fall to ground. I would like to believe Rob, and hope it's not a bad infestation of bugs, but judging from the damage on nearby lilacs from borers I think it's inevitable that the figs are under attack and have been since last summer. I pruned off the worst of the galled up branches last fall and pruned off more just the other day. I may need to go nuclear on them and bring them to the ground and paint the stumps, since it looks like even if the main trunk leafs out, the bugs will eventually weaken any new growth. I' am attempting to add two more photos of what they look like at the moment. Again, thank you for all your wisdom and if you have any more thoughts I would love to hear them

PS having difficulty adding photos, website is freezing up my iPad and have to reboot, this is unusual for an iPad
__________________
Varieties I own in ground: Adriatic, Blue Celeste, Brown Turkey, Celeste.
My Avi is from a mixed media painting by me of one of my Blue Celeste Figs as seen in better days.
I live 17 miles from the White House, just outside the beltway Zone 7
MaryMary

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 25
Posted Reply with quote  #12 
Website doesn't like my pic size, here is the only one I think it will accept....

Attached Images
jpeg image.jpg (971.36 KB, 59 views)


__________________
Varieties I own in ground: Adriatic, Blue Celeste, Brown Turkey, Celeste.
My Avi is from a mixed media painting by me of one of my Blue Celeste Figs as seen in better days.
I live 17 miles from the White House, just outside the beltway Zone 7

MaryMary

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 25
Posted Reply with quote  #13 
One last thing...I may have done an incredibly stupid thing that may have attracted this bug...I was having a squirrel war last summer, and read somewhere that you can wrap the branch with ripening fruit up with newspaper and clip it with a clothes pin to discourage squirrels and birds from stealing figs. In hindsight I wonder if the dew and rain dampened newspaper set off some kind of chemical that may have attracted these blasted bugs? It's a thought anyway. BTW, was unable to upload my other pics, the website didn't like it and crashed with each attempt, sorry for no further visuals.
__________________
Varieties I own in ground: Adriatic, Blue Celeste, Brown Turkey, Celeste.
My Avi is from a mixed media painting by me of one of my Blue Celeste Figs as seen in better days.
I live 17 miles from the White House, just outside the beltway Zone 7
greenfig

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 3,182
Posted Reply with quote  #14 
Mary,
Have you tried to resize the photos first?
There is a limit on the file size of the pics to be uploaded.
__________________
wish list: Violeta, Calderona. USDA z 10a, SoCal
MaryMary

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 25
Posted Reply with quote  #15 
Side note of nostalgia...this is how good the figs in my garden were last summer...

Attached Images
jpeg image.jpg (36.35 KB, 44 views)


__________________
Varieties I own in ground: Adriatic, Blue Celeste, Brown Turkey, Celeste.
My Avi is from a mixed media painting by me of one of my Blue Celeste Figs as seen in better days.
I live 17 miles from the White House, just outside the beltway Zone 7

MGorski

Registered:
Posts: 370
Posted Reply with quote  #16 
I found these in Virginia attacking a tree that was partially killed but was still alive near the base. The borers attacked green wood, with evidence of sap leaking from the holes. I carefully checked to find the lowest holes, and cut the plant below it, basically to the ground. I then covered the stump with topsoil so the beetle no longer has access to the plant. I also assume that the fungus is going to be in the plant at locations the insect has bored, so I wanted to cut out all infected wood. Hopefully that will do the trick.

Mike in Hanover, VA
__________________
Zone-7, previously Mescalito
Maro2Bear

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 732
Posted Reply with quote  #17 
Hi Mary and welcome to the Forum. Good to have another local joining in the discussion. Sorry to hear and see the damages to your trees, I'm going to have to get out and examine the base of my HC a lot closer. Scary that these critters are here in our AOR. Once again, welcome!
__________________
Mark B., Glenn Dale, MD Zone 7a
needaclone

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 604
Posted Reply with quote  #18 
Mary,
  I'm definitely not an expert on this, but since you've already cut back most of the tree, if the rest of it looks pretty solid and there aren't too many borer holes, you could try killing each borer individually.  e.g. poke a stiff wire or pin into the hole to crush the borer, and then try to spray/squirt some insecticide into the hole for good measure.  Then watch the holes and see if any more sawdust is being pushed out.  If not, maybe you could plug up the holes with paint.  I was hoping Alan would see this thread and comment...but do look up the threads started by alanmercieca and read through them.  His thread talks more about painting (which I have not done) and also has some links to some additional reading material (which also discussed painting).  This would probably be an experiment, since much of the literature says you should just cut it down!
  On the flip side -- if it looks like there are too many borers to deal with individually, and/or if you think the remaining trunk sections don't look healthy, then you could cut the trunk down below the lowest borer.  Hopefully someone else will comment on your pictures in post 12 and 16 to let you know if that cracking is anything to worry about.  I don't have any trees that big, but I do have a couple of small trees that have that look to them.  (But I also don't have enough experience to know if it is anything to worry about!!!)
  Jim
__________________
Clarksburg, NJ - Zone 6b Wishlist - A wise man recommended: Nero600M .  Malta Black . Tacoma (Takoma) Violet . Gino's . Adriatic JH  . Vista Mission . Florea . Atreano .  ...also...RdB, Bethlehem Black, Negronne, Grise de St. Jean, Livano, Col de Dame Blanc/Gris/Noir, Vasilika Sika, Longue D'Aout, Italian 258, Pennsylvania 6-5000
MaryMary

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 25
Posted Reply with quote  #19 
Thanks Jim, Mark and Mike, I think I am going to cut to them to the ground tomorrow, the sawdust holes are increasing in number as we speak. The trees are outside my kitchen window and I can pretty much witness the destruction as it unfolds. There is bleeding sap as well. My neighbor's 25 foot fig is experiencing similar distress. I believe our neighborhood got hit by these bugs and I agree with Jim's earlier assessment, the wet late last summer put the trees in stress and this attracted the borers.
__________________
Varieties I own in ground: Adriatic, Blue Celeste, Brown Turkey, Celeste.
My Avi is from a mixed media painting by me of one of my Blue Celeste Figs as seen in better days.
I live 17 miles from the White House, just outside the beltway Zone 7
MaryMary

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 25
Posted Reply with quote  #20 
One hole leads to many. Update on fig tree borer problem. We dug into the trunk where there is outgoing saw dust activity. At the hole side, which is really no bigger than a pin point , we discovered at least 3 more holes deeper inside leading from the one hole inside. We dug into the live wood (poor fig tree!) about 3/4 of an inch deep and could not find any sign of the culprit. Whatever it is, it's tiny and not obvious but has done much damage as the base of the tree has dozens of saw dust holes. So the theory to poke into the holes from the outside and dig into the trunk to gauge the bug will not work as there are more than one hole leading off the main. I am having a piece of the trunk analyzed by an arborist and will let you know if I get any answers.

Attached Images
jpeg image.jpg (40.54 KB, 33 views)


__________________
Varieties I own in ground: Adriatic, Blue Celeste, Brown Turkey, Celeste.
My Avi is from a mixed media painting by me of one of my Blue Celeste Figs as seen in better days.
I live 17 miles from the White House, just outside the beltway Zone 7

Chivas

Registered:
Posts: 1,675
Posted Reply with quote  #21 
imidacloprid as a soil drench will kill them on living trees, nasty stuff though not the worst.  You may be able to call an arborist to come in a treat, i read somewhere that malathion works on them but I don't know.
__________________
Canada Zone 6B
MaryMary

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 25
Posted Reply with quote  #22 
Thanks Chivas...what is the name of the bug that is causing this?
__________________
Varieties I own in ground: Adriatic, Blue Celeste, Brown Turkey, Celeste.
My Avi is from a mixed media painting by me of one of my Blue Celeste Figs as seen in better days.
I live 17 miles from the White House, just outside the beltway Zone 7
MaryMary

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 25
Posted Reply with quote  #23 
Ahh yes...here is the culprit, poster Jim was right from the beginning. According to this site, I was right to cut them to the ground. My next worry is the Maples that are planted not too far away. http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/trees/asian_ambrosia_beetle.htm
__________________
Varieties I own in ground: Adriatic, Blue Celeste, Brown Turkey, Celeste.
My Avi is from a mixed media painting by me of one of my Blue Celeste Figs as seen in better days.
I live 17 miles from the White House, just outside the beltway Zone 7
Maro2Bear

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 732
Posted Reply with quote  #24 
Darn it!!!!! Tree borers here in Maryland too. My wife and I were looking at our collection of trees yesterday, noting that our in-ground Celeste and Hardy Chicagos were finally starting to look good. We then noticed a few top leaves shriveled on one Celeste branch and on closer inspection, we noticed the telltale signs of the borers. Very small holes with streams of sawdust coming out. We quickly cut a major portion of this branch to the ground and burned it on the BBQ.

Here's one quick pix of the borer's hole with sawdust exiting. Pix two demonstrates the hollow interior where I'm sure the borers are having a ton of fun. I kept cutting back until inner pith looked good again. .....and the borers meet the smoke and fire of our grill. Pix four one can see the small bore hole.

Sad to snip and burn these Celeste branches. They survived this past winter's subarctic freezes and snows to now succumb to a miniscule beetle!

Just added another pix of the stumps that I didn't cut. I'm hoping I got the beetles before they moved lower.

Attached Images
jpeg image.jpg (323.70 KB, 34 views)
jpeg image.jpg (314.16 KB, 33 views)
jpeg image.jpg (403.99 KB, 28 views)
jpeg image.jpg (199.60 KB, 27 views)
jpeg image.jpg (304.17 KB, 21 views)
jpeg image.jpg (711.46 KB, 13 views)


__________________
Mark B., Glenn Dale, MD Zone 7a

MaryMary

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 25
Posted Reply with quote  #25 
Yup, that's it....grrrrrr. I noticed the bugs were in the green wood, closest to the ground, there appeared to be no activity in the dead wood. Blasted bugs!
__________________
Varieties I own in ground: Adriatic, Blue Celeste, Brown Turkey, Celeste.
My Avi is from a mixed media painting by me of one of my Blue Celeste Figs as seen in better days.
I live 17 miles from the White House, just outside the beltway Zone 7
needaclone

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 604
Posted Reply with quote  #26 
The literature says that the beetles dig straight in and then turn and make one or more "galleries" off the main hole.  So if you can poke at them before they've made the turn, you might be able to get them.  (That was the case for me).  Plus, if you get some of the sawdust out, hopefully some of the insecticide will reach to them.
I just got back from camping along the Delaware River between New York state and Pennsylvania.  The very first bug I saw was an Ambrosia Beetle!  There are signs around warning the campers not to bring their own firewood because it has become a known method of transporting the beetles from hundreds of miles away.  If you do bring your own wood, they warn/plead for you to burn it all and not leave any.
I was at a cookout a few miles from my house.  The owner (not a fig grower or a grower of fruit trees of any kind) was complaining about the gnats buzzing around.  They were ambrosia beetles.  They got worse once a few bottles of beer and other alcoholic beverages were opened up -- since they're attracted to the alcohol in them.
Oy!
Jim
__________________
Clarksburg, NJ - Zone 6b Wishlist - A wise man recommended: Nero600M .  Malta Black . Tacoma (Takoma) Violet . Gino's . Adriatic JH  . Vista Mission . Florea . Atreano .  ...also...RdB, Bethlehem Black, Negronne, Grise de St. Jean, Livano, Col de Dame Blanc/Gris/Noir, Vasilika Sika, Longue D'Aout, Italian 258, Pennsylvania 6-5000
JoAnn749

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 1,184
Posted Reply with quote  #27 
I could just cry!!!  The horrid little creatures!

You may not want to use this on edibles, but 2 years ago I had a boring type thing attack a beautiful tree I have on the side of my house.  Unfortunately I haven't had it ID'd yet.  Anyway, I used Bayer tree and shrub  that is poured around the base of a small tree and at the drip line of a large tree.  It worked like a charm on that tree that is about 30' or so from my in-ground fig and garden.  I prefer organic methods, but sometimes there isn't time for that.

Good luck getting rid of those horrid little creatures!
__________________
Jo-Ann DFW TX, Zone 7b-8a Wish List: Black Madeira,, Kathleen's Black, Malta Black, Marseille VS Black, White Paradisio, LSU Scott's Black, Conadria, White Trianna, Marttineca Rimada, Excel, Peter's Honey, Bebera Preta (Abebereira), Strawberry Verte
Rob

Registered:
Posts: 550
Posted Reply with quote  #28 
Does anyone know more about these things, beyond the limited info on wikipedia?  Are they invasive/introduced, or do they naturally live here?  If the latter, then we can assume that there was some set of circumstances over the last few months or year that led to this apparent population explosion.  Also, we can hope that whatever naturally preys on them will start to multiply and take down their numbers.  Might take a season for this to happen though. 

There is a huge old fig tree across the street that seems to have died almost to the ground and has these holes all over it.  So I know they are around me as well.  However, I have about 100 potted fig trees, and they are all healthy with no signs of these beetles.  So I'm wondering why they were spared (so far)?  Is it because they were in the garage during the initial wave of these beetles?  I moved them out around the end of April.  Is it something else specific to growing in pots? 
__________________
Rob
Maryland Zone 7
http://rbfigs.webs.com/
Maro2Bear

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 732
Posted Reply with quote  #29 
Good questions Rob

My Celeste with the beetle infestation is in ground since last Summer. Made it through the extreme winter temps but the beetles found it. Maybe the cold frozen area was an open invitation for them to make that branch their home. My potted fig trees that were stored inside, all look good. Right now I'm going to trim a large dead looking branch off my inground HC, it looks like a good place for a beetle attack.

Here's a snap of my larger in-ground HC with one branch (poking up and out, right side) that appeared dead compared with the rest of tree. With beetles so close by I didnt want to provide them with any more interesting bed town locations. So, I just pruned it. Surprisingly, although it looked like dead wood, the pith inside appeared green, just no growth. This was one branch that I didn't have as well covered as rest of tree this Winter.

Attached Images
jpeg image.jpg (646.67 KB, 13 views)


__________________
Mark B., Glenn Dale, MD Zone 7a

MaryMary

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 25
Posted Reply with quote  #30 
I just spoke with the Maryland Dept of Agriculture. The inspector was very concerned and extremely knowledgeable. The good news is, this beetle that has bored into my fig trees is called Ambrosia Beetle and is common to our area, not to be confused with the Long Horn Asian Beetle, which is a threat. The difference is, the Ambrosia Beetle will leave pin holes in the wood whereas the Long Horn will leave dime sized holes. He went on to say the Ambrosia Beetles attack stressed, weak, or dying trees. Given the past winter was so hard on the figs this all makes sense. I have cut the fig trees down to the ground, there are already foot high shoots coming up off the stumps (as my trees were multi trunked) so I have a good feeling that these trees will come back. I don't think there is anything that could have been done differently given the factors that led to this. Cheers to all and may your figs come back with a vengeance! I'll keep you updated on the progress.

Here is an informative link describing the Ambrosia Beetle in more detail. What I came away with is that healthy trees are less susceptible.
https://extension.umd.edu/sites/default/files/_docs/programs/ipmnet/GAB%20Bulletin-UMD.pdf
__________________
Varieties I own in ground: Adriatic, Blue Celeste, Brown Turkey, Celeste.
My Avi is from a mixed media painting by me of one of my Blue Celeste Figs as seen in better days.
I live 17 miles from the White House, just outside the beltway Zone 7
Rob

Registered:
Posts: 550
Posted Reply with quote  #31 
Mark,

Looks like you are fairly close to me geographically.  Did you protect your HC?  It's great it survived so well since so many other figs go knocked to the ground over the winter.  How long has it been in ground?
__________________
Rob
Maryland Zone 7
http://rbfigs.webs.com/
MaryMary

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 25
Posted Reply with quote  #32 
The trees were not protected, and have been in the ground for 7 yrs. they are planted on the south side approx 5 feet from the house. In a way they are wind protected due to their location but not wrapped or anything.
__________________
Varieties I own in ground: Adriatic, Blue Celeste, Brown Turkey, Celeste.
My Avi is from a mixed media painting by me of one of my Blue Celeste Figs as seen in better days.
I live 17 miles from the White House, just outside the beltway Zone 7
MaryMary

Avatar / Picture

Registered:
Posts: 25
Posted Reply with quote  #33 
Way to go...love the flame thrower!
__________________
Varieties I own in ground: Adriatic, Blue Celeste, Brown Turkey, Celeste.
My Avi is from a mixed media painting by me of one of my Blue Celeste Figs as seen in better days.
I live 17 miles from the White House, just outside the beltway Zone 7
Previous Topic | Next Topic
Print
Reply