Closer examination of an infected tree will usually reveal small D shaped holes in the bark. These holes are actually exit holes where an adult borer has chewed its way out of to the surface of a tree. If the bark is gone, you could also notice the tunnels the pests have made as they burrowed through the tree.

Borers are defined as any wood boring insects including moths, beetles, sawflies, horn tails and flies. Adult borers emerge to mate, usually in early summer, between June and July. Once they have mated, the impregnated females begin laying their eggs within the nooks and crannies of the tree bark. Eggs hatch within 9 to 14 days when the small larvae chew their way into the layer of the tree right below the bark but above the wood of the tree, where they continue to grow and tunnel under the bark. The borer will continue to feed on the tree over the rest of the summer and through the winter, emerging again in the early summer as adults.

Evidence of damage attributed to borers usually shows up when the weather first starts to get warm up. Borers cause damage to the tree’s water and nutrient distribution system. This damage to the system makes it hard for the tree to continue growing healthy because it cannot get the nutrients that it needs.

Borers are difficult to deal with once found, and is usually best left to trained tree care professionals such as Senske’s tree technicians. Trees are an investment for your home and protecting them from insects such as borers is crucial. The use of topical sprays to do not take care of a borer problem, however our team of professionals have access to knowledge and materials that can save your tree from borers. Taking action as soon as borers are found is key to making sure the problem doesn’t spread and create widespread damage to the tree(s).