Beetle attacking pear tree

QuestionsHow to growFruitPearsBeetle attacking pear tree
Charlotte Fabian asked 13 years ago

The pear tree in our garden seems to be attacked by a beetle which bores holes into it. There are exit holes from the larvae and plenty of saw dust around it (see photos). As a result the leaves turn brown and curl up. (The bark of the tree appears white in the photos because we whitewashed it in an attempt to kill the beetles. We also had cut the tree to build a treehouse in it. The trunk is growing through the treehouse).What kind of beetle would you reckon it is and what would be the best kind of treatment?

1 Answers

Gerry Daly Staff answered 6 years ago
The boring of the trunk of the tree is caused by bark beetles, of which there are several species, that drill only in the bark and not the wood itself. The covering of the stem seems to have encouraged these as it would appear to be quite dark in the tree house.There is likely to be death of the cambial layer under the bark and this might well be interfering with the uptake of water from the soil, and possibly nutrients as well.

There is not a great deal can be done as you don’t want to have chemicals on the surfaces in the tree house. Perhaps open it up and allow in more light and some natural predators.

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