grubs killing my live oaks???

[missy]

we have live oaks here in the hill country in texas. i have a few small ones in a section of the property. Last year we had one of them die suddenly (or it seemed to me). yesterday we used a bobcat to knock the rest of it down and found huge grub worms through the entire thing. also a root to another tree has some bore holes in it and is dead at the surface but not completely just the piece of root exposed to sunlight. another one of the small oaks has some bore holes in it also. but the tree seems to be healthy with leaves. another one close to it also has a base hole (but not looking like bore holes). is it possible that these grubs are killing my trees or did they infest it once it died? how do i treat the others around this area. anyone know how far they will spread out? i have some very large oaks in the same area i do not want to lose to these things. if you need pictures i will gladly load some up. should i take down the small trees right next to the dead one or can i kill the grubs before its too late. HELP ME PLEASE. i have searched all over the internet calling everyone who deals with trees and pests and no one is helping me. all i hear is they like st augustine grass (which i dont have any of that). Thank You, Missy

 

[Chum]

Grubs don't kill live oaks.

And for what little it's worth, be glad you don't have St. Augustine, it's the most inappropriate ground cover for this area.

I can suggest you don't seek advice from any of the State-funded agencies regarding the decline of your oaks, they have failed to stem what you're in the middle of - a wilt epidemic. In fact, they have contributed to it.

There are alternative protocols, all which depend on the specific pathogen and it's history with your oaks.

If you'd like to discuss these programs, or would be interested in starting your own treatments with feed-store available nutrients, send me an email and we'll get you started.

 

[missy]

Im trying to add more pictures.

We are in bad shape for oak wilt and ball moss here.

 

[Chum]

The picture shows - what would be considered normal - a regular display of a young live oak (Quercus fusiformis X virginianna) for this region. The discoloration are the trunk lichens. Diagnostic characteristics for wilt which are 100% reliable...would be the month-old leaves which have yet to display the standard necrotic pattern even IF infection was present. In tow-three more weeks there will be the leaf loss ad these patterns on the leaf will be noticable. On the higher reaches, which you didn't show, I'd bet there would be abundance of ball moss, which as an Epiphite, and air-feeding plant and like the lichens, do not parasitize the tree. Control is optional and perhaps might help in limited ways.

The presense of the plant life around the base of the tree indicate like most Hill country areas, the former abuse of the ground cover by foraging sheep, goats, and cattle. This may have played a large part to our present epidemic of wilt...

There is a good possibility that you can rectify the nutrient deficiencies that increase the effects of this disease by ammending the soil and manage the ground cover unlike which has been done in the past - mowers and shredders hitting the base of the trunk which wounding would further threaten the tree for pathgenic opportunities.

I'll open your private mail now.

 

[Chum]

Got your mail and for now, don't worry anymore about the grubs, or lichens. Locate a local source for the ferrous sulfate and get busy, 2x before late Summer and irrigate to an inch after application (we're not going to have the luxurious rains like we enjoyed last year). Do not provide water for the remaining oaks, as drought helps keep the wilt suppressed. Cease and desist from mowing underneath the distressed oaks until this disease runs it's course, and never use nitrogen ferts anywhere near these oaks (that could mean up to 150 feet away). NPK feeds the disease.

 

[Chum]

...or you can do nothing, follow the advice of the State, or pay someone big bucks to do something that costs a lot but won't help you.

I'm offering free advice and detailed step-by-step instructions, it can't get any easier than this.

From now on - in home "improvements", don't let contractors drive skidsteers near any of your trees unless it's to remove them.