Fight against bark beetle on an apple tree

The bark beetle on the apple tree is a dangerous beetle that feeds on wood and can lead to the death of the tree. You can only fight him at an early stage. If the sawdust that appears after the activity of the bark beetle is white, the apple tree will have to be cut down. It is better to destroy the tree than to allow insects to spread to the rest of the seedlings.

Description of the bark beetle

The bark beetle is a beetle that lives on apple, pear and some other fruit trees. There are two stages of development:

1. Imago (adult insect) – beetles with an underdeveloped rostrum. The body is dark brown, divided into head and abdomen. The sizes are small – up to 9 mm in length. The front paws perform a digging function, have notches on the shins. Insects have wings and fly freely.
2. Bark beetle larvae on an apple tree resemble weevils, the color is white, yellow, sometimes with a brown tint. There are no wings, they move only on the surface.

Adult beetles gnaw through plant tissues and make moves, then form nests in which they lay their eggs. Within a few days, larvae hatch from them. They are very voracious, actively feed on vegetable juices. The development cycle is long – the larva turns into an adult bark beetle in 70 days.

Pests are common in almost all temperate regions. Most often there are two types of beetle:

1. Sapwood fruit or apple bark beetle.

   

2. Unpaired beetle.

   

The sapwood most often settles on old and diseased apple trees, pears, apricots. And the unpaired beetle attacks mainly healthy crops.

The survival of the apple tree after the invasion of the bark beetle

It is rather difficult to remove the bark beetle from the trunk of an apple tree, since it settles inside, and may not manifest itself for a long time. Therefore, if the first signs (holes in the bark) are found, it is already necessary to start destroying the pest as soon as possible.

Bark beetles are very dangerous because the larvae are very voracious and literally wear down the inner layers of wood. As a result, the apple tree is severely injured, deprived of water and nutrients. This leads to a drop in yield, and the tree stops growing. It can die not only from bark beetles, but also from pathogenic fungi that are spread by beetles.

The survival of an apple tree depends mainly on the degree of damage:

1. If there are not so many holes on the bark, the wood does not exfoliate, the sawdust is brown, brown in color, it is still possible to deal with bark beetles.
2. If the wood is exposed, winding passages are observed, and the bark is white, which means that a significant part of the apple tree is affected. In most cases, it is not advisable to treat it – it is better to destroy it before autumn and carefully treat the site so as not to infect neighboring plantings and prevent pests from overwintering.

Damage symptoms

Apple bark beetles (pictured) are quite large, so they can be seen with the naked eye. The main symptoms of the lesion are:

• small holes on the surface of the trunk;
• holes on the branches;
• a pile of small sawdust next to insect habitats;
• the tree looks emaciated, lags behind in development;
• shoots suddenly dry out, stop growing;
• the flow of gum from small lesions (diameter 1-2 mm);
• exfoliation of the bark;
• wood is exposed, winding passages are visible – this is the last stage, which often ends with the death of the apple tree.

Apple bark beetle is easy to identify visually

If small sawdust is found, this is a clear sign of damage. And you should pay attention to their color:

• brown, brown – bark beetles gnaw through the tissues of the bast, i.e. outer shells;
• white – a deep defeat, the tree may not be cured.

Thus, you need to carefully study the external signs of damage – they may appear as early as June. If you start treatment immediately, the apple tree can be saved.

The main sign of damage is the appearance of small holes

Causes of appearance

The pest is quite widespread – from the middle zone and south to Siberia, Transbaikalia, Yakutia, Sakhalin and Kamchatka. Therefore, it is impossible to completely insure against its occurrence. But there are several factors that provoke the invasion of the bark beetle on apple trees and other trees:

• relatively warm, not too hot weather;
• cracks, cuts and other damage to the bark;
• plant residues on the site;
• lack of preventive treatments and thinning pruning.

It is important to understand that the bark beetle is attracted to the smell of fresh wood. Therefore, it is necessary to immediately remove all cut branches, as well as fallen bark, pay attention to cracks in the trunk, and, if necessary, immediately cover them with garden pitch.

How to deal with bark beetle on an apple tree

The fight against bark beetle can be lengthy, and not one, but several means at once are used for destruction. Chemical preparations show the greatest efficiency. Together with them, you can put traps, repellers. If the invasion is insignificant, folk remedies also help.

Chemical preparations for bark beetle on an apple tree

Chemical preparations are most effective for treating trees and preventing the appearance of beetles. They can be used at the invasion stage and in early spring. Waiting periods must be observed – the minimum period from the last spraying to harvest. It can be from 5 to 30 days. Before starting work, you need to prepare the container itself (sprayer), gloves, a mask and special clothing.

The following insecticides are most often used to kill pests:

• “Calypso”;
• “Confidor”;
• “Antibug”;
• Iskra-M;
• “Arrivo”;
• “BI-58”;
• “Bitoxibacillin”.

Advice! The first treatment against bark beetle on an apple tree should be carried out in late April or early May. The main criterion is that the temperature during the day is consistently above 15 ° C.

“Bitoxibacillin” – a biological insecticide that can be used at the fruiting stage

Traps and scarers

You can also get rid of the bark beetle on an apple tree by mechanical means – with the help of traps and repellers. Beetles are most often lured using the following means:

1. In the spring, after pruning, the branches of various trees and shrubs are laid away from apple trees, and 3-4 weeks after the end of summer, the bait is carefully burned.
2. Mechanical collection of beetles by hand – carried out after the start of flowering (within 15-20 days), i.e. from mid-May to the first decade of June.
3. Special repellers – tapes, tablets.

Such tools are used only in large gardens to lure and then destroy various pests.

barrel douching

Douching is a specific method that is suitable for treating trees. It shows effectiveness only in the early stages of the defeat of the apple tree, when there are not so many holes in the bark, and the sawdust is brown or brown in color. To do this, you need to prepare a concentrated insecticide solution – you can choose from this list:

• “Chlorophos”;
• “Tanrek”;
• Carbophos;
• “Calypso”;
• “Antibug”;
• “Confidor”.

The solution is drawn into a large syringe (available at a pharmacy with a volume of 150 ml) and several injections of the trunk are made, especially in the affected area. For prevention, douching is done not only for sick, but also for healthy trees. After the end of the procedure, the surface is treated with garden pitch. After two weeks, be sure to re-treat. The third time may not be necessary – you need to inspect the apple tree.

Fighting bark beetle on an apple tree with folk remedies

Folk remedies also help to destroy the bark beetle on the apple tree. They give results in the early stages of the lesion. They are also used for prevention. Some of the main recipes include:

1. Carbolic acid and any liquid soap (2 cups each) per 5 liters. The resulting concentrate is diluted with water four times – two buckets of the finished solution are obtained. Mix thoroughly and proceed to the processing of the apple tree from the bark beetle.
2. Take crushed rosin in an amount of 1 kg, add 230 g of drying oil and mix with hot molten paraffin (5 kg). This mixture can be used along with garden pitch to treat trunks.
3. Put in a container of 50 g of wax and rosin, add 200 ml of vegetable oil. The mixture is heated until completely dissolved and used as a putty.

You can destroy the bark beetle with rosin

Increased immunity

Along with treatments, it is necessary to take measures to increase the immunity of the apple tree. Even if the variety is not genetically resistant to bark beetle, it is still possible to protect the culture from beetles:

1. Carefully trim, use only well-sharpened tools, pre-treat the blades in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate or other antiseptic.
2. Do not rest the ladder and other heavy objects against the trunk, so as not to cause even slight damage to the bark.
3. If there are wounds, cracks, damage on the surface of the trunk (for example, from a woodpecker), it is necessary to treat it with any folk remedy, after which it is imperative to cover the cracks with garden pitch or a mash with clay and manure (1: 1).
4. Provide normal care – watering, fertilizing and other activities (while taking into account the characteristics of a particular variety).

Prevention

It is not always possible to get a bark beetle out of an apple tree – it often happens that you have to cut down a tree and destroy it. To prevent this from happening, experienced gardeners recommend taking preventive measures. The basic rules are:

1. Treat the apple tree from the bark beetle in the spring with insecticides or folk remedies, set traps.
2. Carry out regular pruning and immediately remove all plant debris so as not to attract the pest with the smell of fresh wood.
3. Avoid sawing wood near the garden for the same reason.
4. Water the apple tree regularly, especially in drought.
5. Prevent the propagation of weeds in the trunk circles, loosen and weed.

Bark beetle resistant apple varieties

All varieties of fruit and coniferous trees are susceptible to attack by this pest. Therefore, you can choose any crops, provided that they are suitable for growing in a particular region.

Conclusion

The bark beetle on the apple tree is very dangerous, and no one is safe from its invasion. Therefore, when growing a tree, you need to pay attention to its appearance, and if necessary, immediately process or douche.