WHITE PINE is one of the most common native trees in Michigan.  Many of our customers have white pines in their landscape or in wooded areas adjacent to the landscaped part of their property.  There are a number of insects that will infest or attack these trees and some are mainly cosmetic or nuisance, but some are quite lethal.

WHITE PINE WEEVIL can cause dieback of the top leader.  This is most noticeable in small trees.  This bug can also attack spruces and cause the same top dieback.  This is preventable with soil applied insecticides.  

SPITTLEBUGS make foamy masses of spittle on outer branches.

PINE BARK ADELGID forms white colonies on the bark.

PINE ROOT COLLAR WEEVILS feed on the roots near the trunk and can kill the tree.

PITCH MASS BORERS bore into the trunk near branch attachments, can weaken the wood and can cause branch or top dieback.  Occasionally with heavy infestation they can cause general decline and potentially death of the tree.  

PINE BARK BEETLES usually are an opportunistic pest and can successfully attack only trees that are stressed or weakened by root damage, compaction, fill, salt infiltration, trunk damage, drought, etc.  HOWEVER, in the past few  years, we have seen trees with no apparent stressors being attacked and killed by these beetles.  Once a tree is attacked there is little to do for that tree, but other trees in the vicinity can be treated to help protect them from bark beetle attack.  

TREATMENT AND PREVENTION

Fortunately, we have ways to treat many of these problems or prevent them.  We have developed a management protocol for the trees attacked by the beetles or borers or near trees attacked by the bark beetles.