“The warmer the climate, the more fre- quent the lifecycle can occur for pests,” says Gorden. “These products need to last long enough to give you the protec- tion that’s needed. If it’s not there for the second or third generation, what have you really accomplished?” Pesticide manufacturers continue to conduct tons of research to anticipate pest patterns and provide safer and more effective products to customers. “The technology is constantly improv- ing," says Ware. “Before, arborists might use 40 to 50 gallons of product to treat a single tree, which increases the potential for chemical trespass and drip concerns. Now, we have products that you can apply a millimeter of and Unfortunately for arborists, by the time customers call to ask for help with a tree, it’s usually too late. As Doolittle points out, “You don’t walk into your doctor and say, ‘Man, I’m feeling great, what’s wrong with me?’” To get ahead of pests, tree care compa- nies can spend time cultivating aware- ness among their customers throughout the year, but especially in winter. “Setting expectations is critical,” says Ware. “It’s easy to lose sight or track of things during the growing season. Winter is a good opportunity to get feedback and reach out.” Customers may be unaware that their own actions may be threatening the health of their trees. Keleher points to summer boats parked next to a tree all winter as an example, compacting the soil, bumping into trees, and inadvertent- ly creating pathways for pests to get in. it can last up to two years.” THE NEED FOR EDUCATION “Winter can be really rough for trees,” Keleher says. “For me, it’s about keep- ing them safe and not allowing inten- tional damage.” When trees do suffer, a customer’s de- sire for aesthetics and convenience all
This map shows trends in the total number of growing degree days per year at 305 weather stations. The color and size of the symbols represent percent change between 1948 and 2020.
“Pests are emerging at an earlier time and over-wintering at a later time,” says Vega. “This adds a generation or two to their life cycles.” With each year different from the last, it can be hard to make predictions. “Is anyone a prophet or a forecaster?” asks Doolittle. "What to expect in the spring is determined by all the vaga- ries of the year that you’re in.” Doolittle’s approach to pests is simple: keep an accurate record of what hap- pens, plan for the worst, and take care of problems immediately. “There’s some- thing different every year,” he says. Armed with this knowledge, many tree care professionals can avoid the use of pesticides or tree removal to control pests. “If we can do cultural practices that don’t require pesticides, then we’re already ahead in the spring,” says Ware. “There are some [tree care] com- panies that have no interest and don’t learn it, and they just cut down trees.”
PESTICIDES AND FERTILIZERS Pesticides have come a long way from when they were first introduced in the 1930s and 1940s. Treatment used to involve spraying and coating entire 30- to 40-foot trees with gallons of pes- ticides. Not only was this expensive, but even a gentle breeze could easi- ly blow products to areas where they didn’t belong. Now, pesticides and fertilizers can be injected or implanted directly into the tree and soil, making them targeted and cost-effective. These work by taking ad- vantage of a tree's water transport sys- tem to bring the chemicals to the leaves, shoots, and roots where it’s needed. “We use the tree’s biology to take care of that,” says Vega. “When we inject trees down at the base, we can move a chemical from the base of the tree up to 60 to 80 feet.” The trick, of course, is making sure the pesticide is available to the tree when pests arrive and begin to proliferate.
32 | ArborTIMES Fall 2023
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