Q & A

Welcome to the Planet Natural Garden Forum! Whether you’re new to gardening or have been at it for some time, here you can search existing messages for answers to your questions or post a new message for others to reply to. If this is your first visit, please read over our forum instructions carefully before posting. Enjoy!

  • What’s eating my birch tree?

    Created by EE on June 27, 2007 at 11:26 pm

    From what I have read of the leaf miner, this is NOT the situation. The leaves of my 4 year old birch tree are literally disappearing, especially at the top. I tried spraying a broad spectrum insect killer but could only hit the bottom 1/3 of the tree. Didn’t help much anyway because the leaves along the bottom 1/3 still have holes in them too. I don’t see any signs of the leaf miner as is typically the problem with birch trees, and my nearby Dogwood and Lilac bush are just fine. I don’t see any caterpillars on the leaves, but I did find a grasshopper looking insect on the bottom side of one leaf I turned over.

    Any ideas on how to help my tree? I am in the Northeast part of the U.S. in upstate NY.

  • Author
    Posts
  • June 27, 2007 at 6:27 pm #13832

    Anonymous
    Inactive

    EE – Could this be the little bugger that's chomping on your birch tree?

    Eastern U.S. Beset by Bugs

    June 27, 2007 at 11:26 pm #13833

    EE
    Member

    Daddy-O, I would like to believe you found the answer to my quandry, but I don't think that is the situation. I haven't seen anything that looks like a Cicada around my neighborhood or anywhere else in the area. They are very distinct looking creatures and are not very small where they could easily be overlooked. Thanks for the input, but I don't think it's Cicadas. Besides, my other trees (the Dogwood and the Lilac and one other flowering tree in the backyard) aren't being touched at all. Wouldn't Cicadas be eating them too?

    June 30, 2016 at 11:39 am #203190

    Eric Vinje
    Keymaster

    Have you noticed any holes in the trunk of the tree? The top defoliation suggests to me that you may be dealing with Bronze Birch Borer. You could try treating the problem with a product called bora-care, which is quite effective. If the trees are tall, you may have to hire a specialist to spray the tops. Find the product here!

    https://www.planetnatural.com/product/bora-care/

    Hope this helps!

  • Author
    Posts

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.