Protect Your Birch Trees Against Bronze Birch Borer

Exit hole of adult Bronze Birch Borer Beetle

Bronze birch borer (BBB) is a common native wood-boring insect that feeds on tissues under the bark of birch trees. BBB is an opportunistic borer that only attacks weakened and stressed birch trees. Severe infestations can kill birch trees. Paper, European white, ornamental purple and cut leaf varieties of birch are very susceptible, while river and yellow birch are more resistant to BBB. Typical symptoms of BBB include branch/tip dieback in the upper canopy and the telltale 1/8” “D” shaped exit holes on the bark of dead and dying branches.

Minimizing tree stress through frequent watering (one to two hours every one to two weeks using a lawn sprinkler) and annual fertilization can greatly reduce the occurrence of BBB.  Preventative treatment options for BBB include soil and trunk injected systemic insect controls. Shadywood Tree Experts offers both treatment options. As preventative treatments, both treatment options have proven effective in preventing and treating BBB. In addition, therapeutic treatments are successful if the infestation is caught early and when damage is minimal.

Here’s what we can do

Shadywood Tree Experts can help maintain your birch trees with the use of systemic insecticide applications and annual fertilization. When you sign up for plant health care from Shadywood, we administer the recommended protocols for disease prevention control to keep your trees healthy. With each visit, our arborists assess trees for overall health.

Additional things you can do to maintain the health of your tree

Water birch trees regularly using a lawn sprinkler for at least an hour once every one to two weeks to minimize moisture stress. Mulch root systems when possible, using natural wood chips to protect the trunk, condition and improve the soil, and to conserve soil moisture.  If you see anything that doesn’t look right, have your trees inspected by one of Shadywood Tree Experts International Society of Arboriculture Certified Arborists.