Birch borer help

[Tucker943]

I need help. This birch is getting hammered. The tops of the leaders are turning stone cold from the borers. I dont know what kind they are to determine the treatment I'll use. Theres so much sap running out of the borer holes that the tree was covered in bees. The groups of borer holes are concentrated on every major leader, about 2/3 of the way up the tree.

Look closely and you'll see the problem

 

[Burnham]

Looks like the damage red-shafted sapsuckers do here...the bird, ya know .

 

[DMc]

Looks like the damage red-shafted sapsuckers do here...the bird, ya know .

Yup! Random holes = bugs, holes made in patterns = birds. Recommend treating with a hammock and an air rifle.

Dave

 

[Husabud]

I agree, sapsucker of some sort. I just got called for a removal of a huge Willowbecause of " some beetle" turned out to be sap sucker. I am going to prune out the dead and wait for Hitchcock.

 

[squisher]

Up here it's BBB bronze birch borer and the bird is looking for the larvae as well as creating the perfect habitat for the bug. Pretty much a removal or a multi-part removal if the people want to retain it for a few years. In these parts anyways.

 

[Tucker943]

So what is the sap sucker feeding on is what I want to figure out.....

 

[Tucker943]

I want to take away the birds food. The customer does really.

 

[Husabud]

http://forestry.about.com/od/foresthealth/p/woodpecker.htm

This may help.

 

[squisher]

It's feeding on the borer and around here that tree would be doomed. BBB dies from the top down as you described. Cut back to live wood/lateral if your customer is wanting to retain it. But as I said before up here it would be a multi-part removal if they want to keep it around.

 

[squisher]

On a birch I'm fairly certain that sapsucker is going after borers, not sap. It's the secondary, in doing it's thing it's creating the perfect habitat for the borers to multiply.

 

[Tucker943]

Im fairly sure its borers, but needed your advice. They refuse a removal at this point. So, Ill shoot the tree with Imicide that I have enough of and go from there. I believe its a removal in the making but if they insist on trying another route first, Ill let them.

 

[squisher]

I've pruned them out lots to retain them for awhile longer, the odd one seems to do ok. Your pics look kinda bad though and if it's declining fast I bet it's a goner.