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Bark Beetles and Drought Stress in Pollock Pines

Is a pine going orange or sprinkling dust at the base? Call us. We'll book a nearby tree pro to check it, and if the tree can be helped, they'll say so.

Call (530) 248-6524

This is the page for bark beetle and drought care in Pollock Pines. For bark beetle and drought care, a tree trimming company in Pollock Pines can come look, and we set it up.

Plan bark beetle and drought care in Pollock Pines with one call. We take the call, find a tree trimming company for bark beetle and drought care, and book it. You decide on the price.

Bark beetle and drought care in Pollock Pines: how we help

Give us your Pollock Pines street and what bark beetle and drought care you need. Then a tree trimming company in Pollock Pines looks at bark beetle and drought care. The visit goes faster that way.

Why this matters in Pollock Pines in Pollock Pines

You may remember the brown hillsides a few years back. Between 2010 and 2018, the Forest Service's aerial survey spotted over 147 million dead trees in California. A UC report ties the die-off to the 2012 to 2016 drought and to a boom in native bark beetles that followed.

Pollock Pines is mountain pine country, with ponderosa and sugar pine along with firs and cedars. It sits in the Eldorado National Forest's backyard. What happened on those hillsides can happen in a yard, just one tree at a time.

The basic idea in Pollock Pines

Bark beetles are native. They've lived in these woods for ages. UC says they usually go after trees weakened by drought, disease or injury. A healthy tree can push the beetles out with sap. A thirsty one can't.

So the order goes like this. A dry year or a root injury weakens the pine. A beetle lands and bores in. More beetles follow the scent. The tree is cut off from its own food line, and by the time the needles fade, the beetles have long since moved on to the next tree.

That's why this page is about drought stress as much as about beetles. The best defense is a tree that isn't thirsty.

Signs to look for in Pollock Pines

• Pitch tubes. Pitch tubes, in UC's words, are pine sap blended with the dust the beetles make while boring. They sit on the bark like little wads of gum.
• Fine reddish dust in bark cracks or on the ground at the foot of the trunk.
• Needles that turn yellow, then orange or red, starting in the crown.
• Pitch tubes low on the trunk. Red turpentine beetles, says UC, work the lowest part of the trunk, roughly 2 to 8 ft up, and the large roots.

Not every pitch tube means a dead tree. A tree may fight off a few. A tree company can read the pattern.

The pruning rule that surprises people

UC's pest note rules out pine pruning from February up to the middle of October. The reason: beetles fly in that stretch, and a fresh cut is an easy way in for them. In its words, keep fresh wounds off your pines while adult beetles are flying.

That clashes with the fire advice to limb up before summer, and it's a real tug of war. Our answer is to do the fire-safety cuts in the cool months. See limbing up pines. For dead or broken branches the ISA says any month is fine. Take those off when you see them.

Water, the cheap fix

Here's what UC suggests in a drought. Water infrequently, about twice a month. But use enough that the water goes deep, about a foot down. A short daily sprinkle does little for a big pine.

Put the water out where the roots are, which is under the drip line of the branches, not tight against the trunk. A hose on a slow trickle for a few hours does more than a quick spray.

Easy things to avoid: piling dirt or gravel on the roots, driving equipment over them, or letting the trunk get nicked by a mower or string trimmer. UC lists mechanical damage as one of the stresses beetles look for.

Firewood and slash

A few simple rules from UC.

• Don't move firewood from place to place.
• Don't stack freshly cut, unseasoned wood near trees you want to keep.
• If branches are infested, prune them and get rid of them. The note's other option is to chip them, or lay heavy clear plastic over the pile and let the sun work on it for months.
• A trunk full of beetles means the tree should go soon, says UC.

For fire safety, stack wood at least 30 ft from the house, on bare ground.

What it costs

These are national figures. Taking down a big dead pine isn't in the table and costs more than trimming one. Your crew you hire quotes that after seeing the tree, the lean and what's around it.

Spending a little on a look now can save a lot. A beetle-killed pine dries out fast and can drop limbs. It is a fire fuel too.

What a tree company looks at on the visit

A tree trimming company doesn't just glance at the needles. A real look takes a few minutes and goes round the whole tree.

• The lowest part of the trunk, for pitch tubes and dust.
• The bark higher up, for little round exit holes.
• The color of the crown, and whether the change started at the top or on one side.
• The ground under the tree, for fresh dust, and for signs of root damage or soil piled on the roots.
• The neighbors. Beetles move from tree to tree, so one sick pine means the next ones get a check too.

Based on that, the crew you hire tells you if the tree can be helped, if it needs water, or if it should come down. You'll get a straight answer. If a tree is past saving, taking it out early is cheaper than waiting for it to drop limbs.

Looking for bark beetle and drought care in Pollock Pines? Ring (530) 248-6524. We arrange a tree trimming company for bark beetle and drought care and the day.

More to read

Related: dwarf mistletoe weakens trees, too. Also see care by season, all tree jobs, or the home page.