Dying Hickory & Oaks - HOLES in stems

[coolbrze]

A client of ours is having a serious die-off of the majority of Hickory trees on his property, along w/ some Oaks. The Hickory tops die out, then the rest of the tree follows. Not sure if this is why, but we noticed some serious bore holes in the trunks of some of his trees. He thinks it may be Cicada Killer Wasps but I don't know. Any ideas?

 

[Zale]

Any recent construction (last 3-5 years or sooner) or disturbance to the root zones? Borers are a secondary cause and not the primary reason for the trees decline. Cicada killers i.e wasps are not hurting the trees, you can rule that out. What is the soil moisture like? Our area is going through a really dry time right now.

 

[treeseer]

Any recent construction (last 3-5 years or sooner) or disturbance to the root zones? Borers are a secondary cause and not the primary reason for the trees decline. Cicada killers i.e wasps are not hurting the trees, you can rule that out. What is the soil moisture like? Our area is going through a really dry time right now.

X2, the 2nd pic shows big root exposed and scalped by mower. The issue is in the bottom half of the tree, where arborists can also work. :bang:

 

[coolbrze]

I wish it were that easy. He's got 26 acres & it's trees all over, high & low, where there hasn't been any root disturbance. Def. dry here in NOVA, but we had a wet summer. This has been going on 2-3 years that I know of.

 

[Zale]

I live in the same area. We have had periods of drought for the past decade. The stress can be cumulative. Hickories and red oak tend to be more sensitive to these stresses. They look good one year and the next they are toast.

 

[Jed1124]

Looks like some type of bacterial slime flux or perhaps is phytophora a problem in your area? I think the holes are a secondary condition due to critters trying to get at whatever bugs are feeding on the infected wood. I would get some samples and bring them to a local extension center to get a positive Id on whatever is causing the condition, then you can treat accordingly.