When to think about tree disease and pest problems

Did your trees have insect or disease problems last year? If so, now is the probably the best time to contact your arborist to make sure you're pro-actively dealing with it this year. The timing of treatments are crucial when fighting harmful attacks. They have to be applied during the critical "window of opportunity" to be effective. Insects have life cycles and the treatments must be done at the right point in the cycle. But many tree owners call the arborist when they see the symptom in their trees. By this point, the damage is often done, and it is way past the effective time when something could've be done.
Insects tend to overwinter in the tree and are waiting for spring (like the rest of us). But they enjoy the tree in a completely different way than we do. To them, the tree's nothing but a good meal. That's when larvae start tunneling through the vascular system, etc.
Have your arborist look at your trees now, while they are still dormant. Once all the activity of spring starts, you want to have your plan of defense in place. More on specific diseases and pests in future blogs.