Insect, Mites & Disease Control

Monitoring Your Plants

Insects, mites & diseases are continuous threats to the health and beauty of your landscape. Our plant health care technicians understand these vulnerabilities, and work to safe-guard your trees and shrubs. Our trained arborists regularly monitor your landscape and identify the issues that will affect your property. Preventative treatments can reduce damage and help keep your landscape healthy. We stay aware of the current and anticipated pest issues through regular contact with leading entomologists (insect experts), pathologists (disease experts) and weekly periodicals from local universities and Cooperative Extension experts.

The top 5 signs of insect and disease issues for your trees and shrubs:

  1. Leaves off Color: Trees tell us when something is wrong. A trained eye can spot abnormal leaf color in a landscape and recommend action to correct the problem.
  2. Deformed Leaves: Insects and diseases can cause tree leaves to deform. Knowing when and how to treat is critical for success.
  3. Extensive Deadwood/Tip-Dieback: Healthy trees and shrubs have dead branches in them. When trees start to dieback from the top, knowing what and how to treat is critical for tree health.
  4. Sticky/Black Residue on patios: Leaf sucking insects excrete “honeydew” which can cause extensive damage to patios, cars, and other landscape plants. The black reside is known as “sooty mold” and is a sign of insects feeding on leaves above.
  5. Bleeding/Depressions in Tree Trunks: Cankers developing underneath the bark of a tree will often be “sunken” and bleed. These cankers act like a clogged artery, restricting water and nutrient flow through the tree.

Treatment Methods to Manage Insects:

  • Injections: Soil and trunk injections place the materials where they are easily absorbed by the plants and quickly control the damaging pests.
  • Manual Control: This is the most expensive and time-consuming method. Cocoons, egg masses or the insects themselves can be removed by hand. This is not a solution that is often used, but it is always an option.
  • Spray Treatments: Primarily using eco-friendly, bio-rational materials, we limit the impact of damaging pests.

Treatment Methods to Manage Diseases:

  • Disease Treatment: Many diseases can be effectively controlled with well-timed treatments using materials designed for that specific disease.
  • Tree Fertilization: A soil injection of fertilizer in the spring or fall will stimulate root growth and strengthen the tree’s ability to resist disease.
  • Tree Pruning: Removing dead and diseased limbs reduces the amount of disease activity in your landscape and helps keep trees healthier.
Certified arborist performing services for controlling insects and disease

The top 5 signs of insect and disease issues for your trees and shrubs:

  1. Large amount of deadwood: Every tree and shrub has dead branches in it. When more than 15% of a plant appears dead, it is time for action.
  2. Damaged leaves: When trees, shrubs and landscape plants no longer appear ‘normal,’ expert eyes are needed to diagnose the problems.
  3. Decay or open holes: Dead and decaying parts of trees, as well as cracks, openings and holes in the trunk and branches, invite pest problems.
  4. Insects, Mites and Diseases visually observed in the landscape: Close inspection of the trees, shrubs and landscape plants provides the best opportunity to see and document the current and likely pest issues.
  5. Mushrooms growing from the roots or on the trunk: Mushrooms on and around trees is always trouble. Decay is present and needs to be assessed by a qualified arborist.
Insect, Mite & Disease Control

Treatment Methods to Manage Insects:

  • Injections: Soil and trunk injections place the materials where they are easily absorbed by the plants and quickly control the damaging pests.
  • Manual Control: This is the most expensive and time-consuming method. Cocoons, egg masses or the insects themselves can be removed by hand. This is not a solution that is often used, but it is always an option.
  • Spray Treatments: Primarily using eco-friendly, bio-rational materials, we limit the impact of damaging pests.
Insect, Mite & Disease Control

Treatment Methods to Manage Diseases:

  • Disease Treatment: Many diseases can be effectively controlled with well-timed treatments using materials designed for that specific disease.
  • Tree Fertilization: A soil injection of fertilizer in the spring or fall will stimulate root growth and strengthen the tree’s ability to resist disease. This does not pertain to trees infected with Fireblight.
  • Tree Pruning: Removing dead and diseased limbs reduces the amount of disease activity in your landscape and helps keep trees healthier.

See our Fact Sheets on various insect, mites and diseases that may be affecting your trees.