Hole in tree with thin white worm / larvae (white oak)

[TylerS84]

Hello,

I have a seeping hole in my white oak tree (I'm 90% sure it's a white oak, but not 100%). Inside the hole is a thin, about 1" long white worm / larvae. You can't see the worm/larvae in the pictures unfortunately, I was only able to see it using a flashlight.

I did some pruning of the tree in very early spring this year, (late february or early march) and I'm in SE michigan so I think I was ok with that timing. The hole and worm are low on the tree, about 3' up from ground, and not where I've previously pruned etc. I don't know the source of the hole / entry point.

Last summer my HOA forced me to prune some low branches and at the time I sealed those prunes with the black "prune seal" stuff from home depot. Shortly after that pruning I did see larvae of something on the cut (which thankfully I had sealed).

Any suggestions or thoughts? There are several white oaks near this one (my other street tree is a white oak about 30 feet away, and same goes for about 8 to 10 tree's in either direction and across the street.

should I spray an insecticide, or seal type product (recommendations?). I have some of the black "prune seal" stuff with insecticide, but I know generally you're not supposed to use those products. How likely is it I'll lose the tree (shortly or in the future) due to something like this?

 

[ShermanC]

Hello,

I have a seeping hole in my white oak tree (I'm 90% sure it's a white oak, but not 100%). Inside the hole is a thin, about 1" long white worm / larvae. You can't see the worm/larvae in the pictures unfortunately, I was only able to see it using a flashlight.

I did some pruning of the tree in very early spring this year, (late february or early march) and I'm in SE michigan so I think I was ok with that timing. The hole and worm are low on the tree, about 3' up from ground, and not where I've previously pruned etc. I don't know the source of the hole / entry point.

Last summer my HOA forced me to prune some low branches and at the time I sealed those prunes with the black "prune seal" stuff from home depot. Shortly after that pruning I did see larvae of something on the cut (which thankfully I had sealed).

Any suggestions or thoughts? There are several white oaks near this one (my other street tree is a white oak about 30 feet away, and same goes for about 8 to 10 tree's in either direction and across the street.

should I spray an insecticide, or seal type product (recommendations?). I have some of the black "prune seal" stuff with insecticide, but I know generally you're not supposed to use those products. How likely is it I'll lose the tree (shortly or in the future) due to something like this?

The bark in photo resembles poplar not white oak. Look at the leaves around its base then start your effort to identify the tree specie by the leaf description. The USDA has a paperback book of 784 pages about borers and their larva. If you want to save the tree and have money for this, you can go to a website for tree injectors preferably Maujet & Co. to locate a technician to inject insecticide on the buttress roots to kill borers. Maujet makes eleven chemical capsules for treating insects and diseased trees. My mentor for four years in northFlorida was a certified forester and Maujet representative. I’ve never had surplus funds to get into this kind of service for ailing trees.

 

[ElevatorGuy]

Tree looks pretty young so I’m not sure by the bark, how about a leaf pic? Either way it’s way to close to the road if it is an white oak, it’s gonna be huge one day if it lives.

@ATH

 

[ATH]

Probably nothing to worry about - looks worse than it is. Gently cut away the dead bark around the hole, but avoid cutting into live tissue (stop cutting as soon as you see green). Something damaged the tree there. The damage could have been done by the larvae you are seeing (maybe, for example, two-lined chestnut borer which is no uncommon on young/stressed oak trees - how long ago was the tree planted?). Or, the larvae you see could be a bug that just found a sheltered place to lay an egg where the bark was damaged by something else.

I probably wouldn't drill to inject that tree (outside of a few abnormal circumstances). Not that we don't do injections...we do - but to treat one spot, I wouldn't. It wouldn't hurt to spray that area with a little insecticide...but once you open it up, you can probably pull the larvae out. If you wanted to do a systemic insecticide, a soil drench (just right around the base of the tree) with imidacloprid will do a good job controlling many insects except lepidoptera (moths - there are some that bore into trees), mites (more of a leaf problem), and armored scale.

I'd have told the HOA you'll be glad to prune, but in order to protect not only your tree, but all of the other oaks in the neighborhood, it would be negligent to prune during the growing season. Plenty of documentation out there to make that case. But this isn't oak wilt, so that didn't cause what you see here...just saying in the future. However, I'd also say now that you know this is an expectation, plan ahead and prune during dormancy to keep adequate clearance throughout the growing season.

I suspect that is Red oak. Can you get a good picture of the buds (or any left over leaves)?

 

[ATH]

PS: might as well mention - in the background of the first picture, your neighbor's tree has too much mulch mounded up over the bottom of the trunk. If yours looks like that, pull the mulch back until you see the root collar. https://extension.psu.edu/mulching-landscape-trees

That could be the source of stressor that "invited" bugs to attack the tree...

 

[Raintree]

Good post ATH, I would also guess flathead borer in red oak. However the OP is most likely long gone due to the age of the thread.

 

[TRTermite]

Good post ATH, I would also guess flathead bored in red oak. However the OP is most likely long gone due to the age of the thread.

Maybe he is gone BUTT the information is out there for the rest of us THANKS

 

[ATH]

I didn't even notice the age of post...just saw it as a new active thread in HO section.

 

[Brufab]

Looks like a young red oak,or glass oak as they are sometimes referred to

 

[ElevatorGuy]

I didn't even notice the age of post...just saw it as a new active thread in HO section.

Same here

 

[thenne1713]

Probably nothing to worry about - looks worse than it is. Gently cut away the dead bark around the hole, but avoid cutting into live tissue (stop cutting as soon as you see green). Something damaged the tree there. The damage could have been done by the larvae you are seeing (maybe, for example, two-lined chestnut borer which is no uncommon on young/stressed oak trees - how long ago was the tree planted?). Or, the larvae you see could be a bug that just found a sheltered place to lay an egg where the bark was damaged by something else.

I probably wouldn't drill to inject that tree (outside of a few abnormal circumstances). Not that we don't do injections...we do - but to treat one spot, I wouldn't. It wouldn't hurt to spray that area with a little insecticide...but once you open it up, you can probably pull the larvae out. If you wanted to do a systemic insecticide, a soil drench (just right around the base of the tree) with imidacloprid will do a good job controlling many insects except lepidoptera (moths - there are some that bore into trees), mites (more of a leaf problem), and armored scale.

I'd have told the HOA you'll be glad to prune, but in order to protect not only your tree, but all of the other oaks in the neighborhood, it would be negligent to prune during the growing season. Plenty of documentation out there to make that case. But this isn't oak wilt, so that didn't cause what you see here...just saying in the future. However, I'd also say now that you know this is an expectation, plan ahead and prune during dormancy to keep adequate clearance throughout the growing season.

I suspect that is Red oak. Can you get a good picture of the buds (or any left over leaves)?

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=poplar+bark+beetle&ia=web