Five Pests That Tend To Attack Trees In The Springtime

The springtime months are a great time of the year for your trees. They'll burst into brilliant greens as leaf buds begin to push out and open up.However, the coming warmth of the springtime also attracts some unwelcome guests to your trees. As the weather warms up, you can expect an increasing risk of pest infestation in your trees.

Identifying the enemy is one of the first steps of fighting a pest infestation. The following are five commonly seen tree pests in the United States that are most likely to make their appearance in the springtime months:

The Eastern tent caterpillar

This type of caterpillar will defoliate trees severely if an infestation is allowed to get out of hand. Usually, the Eastern tent caterpillar will start to appear at the beginning of the spring. It will appear even earlier in the late winter in warmer regions of the deep South. Trees that are particularly susceptible to infestation from Eastern tent caterpillars include cherry, apple, plum and hawthorn trees. 

The emerald ash borer

Emerald ash borer infestations have devastated tree populations across wide swathes of the country. Signs of an infestation include whole sections of the tree canopy dying from the top to the edges. Also, trees will sometimes develop sprout clusters at the base of the trunk when an ash borer infestation is present. As the name implies, emerald ash borers pose a threat specifically to specifies of ash tree. 

The whitefly

You'll know that you have a whitefly infestation if you begin to notice a stickiness on the leaves of your trees. As the infestation worsens, black mold could begin to grow on leaves and the sap coating on leaves could begin to attract ants. 

If you have chestnut, oak, redbud, ash, and any type of broad-leaved tree growing in your yard, you should be particularly wary of whitefly infestations. 

The bagworm

A bagworm infestation is indicated by ragged looking leaves and the appearance of small bag-like structures made from twigs dangling from leaves and branches. The types of tree that are most susceptible to bagworm infestation are evergreen trees like Eastern red cedars and junipers.  

Scale insects

A tree that is infested with scale insects will exhibit yellowing leaves that eventually fall off. Another indication of scale insect infestation is cracking bark. Scale insects include a variety of different insect species including cottony cushion scale insects and euonymus scale insects.

If you have citrus, palm, or shade trees growing around your home, you are more at risk of struggling with a scale insect infestation problem this spring. Contact companies like Show Me Tree Service for professional services. 

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