Trees - Pines
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  (September) We have a large pine tree (60 ft. tall) whose needles have turned brown in the past month. There appear to be small bore holes on the trunk. Can I save the tree and what can I do to protect the other pines nearby.

  If all of the needles are brown, I doubt there is much you could do at this point to save it. If the needles that are brown and dropping are mainly from the base of the branches, it may not be as bad as it seems. It sounds to me like borers or bark beetles may be the culprit. Usually they do not attack a healthy tree, but go after one already damaged. Sprays for them are more of a band-aid approach, especially at this stage. You can wait until spring and see what happens, but with evergreens, there should not ever be a complete browning.

  I moved to Cabot after retirement. My house is on approximately two acres, with 200 or more pine trees and a few hardwoods. One of the pines has died. As the enclosed picture shows, the bark has fallen off up to about eight feet from the ground. As you can see, there are holes scattered throughout. It is too late for this tree, but is there anything I can do to protect the others?

  It appears that your tree was stressed in some way, and pine bark beetles came in and finished it off. The size of the holes indicate that turpentine beetles were the culprit. There are several species of pine bark beetles--the Southern bark beetle, the Ips engraver beetle and the turpentine beetle. Turpentine beetles show the most damage, because they typically attack the lower portion of the tree and leave the biggest holes. They normally do not attack healthy trees, preferring to pick out trees that are on their way out, and finishing off the process. The best thing to do now is to cut down and dispose of the dead tree. Keeping the remaining trees healthy with a regular maintenance program of watering and fertilization is your best means of defense. With an area as large as you have, you may want to concentrate on the trees closest to your home. Lindane or dursban are two insecticides that are labeled for beetle control, but they are preventative rather than curative.

  We live in Maumelle, and in our back yard we have a massive pine tree-I would guess at least twenty-five to thirty years old based upon a life of living in Arkansas. During the Summer I began to notice what looks like saw dust around the base of the tree, and it has a rather large, strange looking, stripe running up a large part of its trunk, from about twenty feet up from the ground and for at least fifteen to twenty feet in total length. Now most of the needles have turned brown, and pine is suppose to be an evergreen. Have heard of pine bores, but I have not actually seen any of their work. I thought you might give me some clue as to the nature of this problem, and any suggestions as to what I might do to correct this problem would be deeply appreciated. I cannot even begin to face the prospect of losing such an elegant tree.

  I know it isn't a pleasant prospect, but there is nothing you are going to be able to do to salvage this tree. Once the needles go brown, that is it. If it was just the old needles dying that would be ok, but if the whole tree is brown, it is gone. It does sound like bark beetles attacked, but as large as the holes and sap drips, my guess it was the turpentine beetles. They usually come in to finish off a dying or extremely stressed tree. The best thing a homeowner can do to prevent loss from bark beetles is to keep the trees healthy with regular watering and fertilization. Fertilization is best accomplished with lawn fertilization. There will be many dead pine trees after the growing conditions we had the past two summers. Sorry it isn't better news.

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