This is my first removal of a borer and I was wondering if I need to treat the hole with anything just to make sure no others are occupying the hole.
001
002
003
004
005
002
003
004
005
5 Likes
Nicely done. I try to paint all my trunks with a mix of joint compound and interior latex paint as a preventative, mayo consistency, apply from soil up to the first scaffold annually.
You could inject some insecticide or neem into the hole to kill any other grubs lurking. Keeping weeds and grass away from the trunks is another thing to do that helps deny the adult bores the cover they prefer to do their nasty biz in.
2 Likes
I’ve injected Spinosad straight up into the hole with a hypodermic needle until it comes out. Can probably dilute it but my frame of mind upon finding such just ain’t right. Works well for squash vine borer too.
2 Likes
Does this work well with squash? You might have indirectly solved my squash problem. I quit growing them because of the borer problem.
squash is so cheap to buy that it doesn’t pay to grow them anymore due to SVB, however, it grows so fast and if space is no issue, successive plantings can be very successful.
2 Likes
So I tested a way to defeat the SVB this year after taking hits last year - that’s how I found the Spinosad worked (but wanted to avoid it altogether). So I planted it out in a hill that I ‘mulched’ with rock dust - right up to the stem. Then kept the vines up off the ground on bricks. No SVB this year! Not one. Now I have to solve the blight problem. Stay tuned. 
3 Likes
How did you get the worm out intact? Did you impale it and draw it out or is the bark peeled back enough to get at it. I can’t tell from the photos.
1 Like
If you look at my last picture there is a small strip of dead bark and I think at least part of the worm was in this cavity between the two holes. When I lifted the bark the worm came out with. No skill on my part, it just happened to be at a good place when I probed with the wire.
That looks like a large worm. I thought that borers were little small things…no wonder the trees die.
1 Like
That’s a flathead, I think - just one or two will do it
I lost an apple and a cherry to them
1 Like
I don’t know much about borers but the flat head sure matches it. The place it entered is a 1.5" diameter double graft that I have been wondering if the joint was going to end up being incompatible (Moonglow pear/Mollie apple/Honey Crisp apple). The worm might have know that this was a weak place.
Pacific Flathead Borer. Kill them slowly if possible.
1 Like
Thanks @applenut.- @ltilton and others
https://extension.tennessee.edu/publications/Documents/W289-Q.pdf