We have a wild cherry tree that is bleeding sap. Up and down the tree trunk sap is leaking out and puddling at the base of the trunk. Would anyone have any thoughts or ideas of what we could do for the tree?
You don't say where you are, but it sounds like a peach tree borer. They get into your cherry, peach, plum, apricot, and nectarine tree's bark and work their way up. If I understand it correctly, they lay their eggs in the ground around the base of the trees. When it warms up and stays warm, they hatch, come out, and dig into the trees.
You can surround your trees with a circle of moth balls and then hill it up about six inches with dirt. Do this in the fall. Uncover it in the spring. This is supposed to kill eggs in the ground.
About a month before the trees bloom and bud out, you can spray them completely from the ground up to the first or second crotch with a Dormant Spray. Every time it rains or the spray gets washed off, re-spray it until the soil temp reaches 60 degrees and stays there for several weeks. That is supposed to kill any borers that made it past the moth balls.
If you notice any new holes leaking sap, you can take a cloths hanger apart, stick one end in one of the holes and push it up until it hits something solid. That way you mash the borers that made it into the trees.
This is an ongoing fight. It might be lessened it your remove any lilacs that might be close by. The lilac borer and peach tree borer aren't picky and will go after which ever is available and easiest to get to.
You can also buy, install, and maintain some traps that will trap the borers while in the flying stage. In addition, they will get rid of several other pests that will bother your fruit later on in the year.
Talk to your extension agent and other growers about what else you can do. I also received a lot of additional info on the internet.
Dwayne
Dwayne is right, it is an ongoing problem, and only recently have I found a simple solution.(at least I think it is).
I live in zone 7 (in the heart of Peach country in Arkansas). There are two types of Peach tree bore, but both,here in zone 7,lay their eggs in late May, and the bore emerges the next spring.
There was an effective spray for this problem up until about 4 years ago when the EPA took it off the market, and recommended Diazinon, then took it off the market with no further recommendations that I know off.
I have 9 peachtrees and my solutions is this, I use the granuals that I use in my yard to kill grubs. After what I believe to be the last freeze, I put a small circle around the base of the tree, and for the last three years I have nad no problems with bores.
Have a good >You don't say where you are, but it sounds like a peach tree borer. They
Thanks for the advice! I'm in zone 5 in northern Indiana.
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