If Your Trees Look Sick, Don’t Wait to Contact a “Tree Doctor” in Dodge County!

Trees, like people and animals, get sick. How do you identify a “tree doctor” if your trees show indicators of poor health?

Leaf loss, in one section or across a tree’s entire crown, is the most typical evidence of a problem. Mushroom growth, regularly from a trunk or base, is another. A spate of dead limbs can be a symptom.

An ISA-Certified Arborist from Dorshak Tree Specialists is your best bet for prompt, responsive tree treatment service in Dodge County! Trained to detect and analyze diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe solutions for problems that afflict Wisconsin trees.

Changes in leaf color are another symptom. Yellow leaves can be symptomatic of a fertilizer shortage, often with oaks. However, yellow is the natural color of leaves on a sunburst locust tree. A Certified Arborist knows the difference, and how to translate the messages of leaf colors!

Preventing problems is the most efficient approach to tree health. It’s advisable to have your trees inspected every three to five years by a Certified Arborist. Dorshak Tree Service, with seven Certified Arborists on staff, offers this service for free for tree owners in and around Dodge County.

What are they looking for? The aforementioned symptoms, of course. Another area of note is crevices or cavities in trees, where moisture and insects gather. The goal is to identify existing or potential problems early. Preventing a disease or insect infestation is much simpler than curing them once established.

Colorado blue spruces fill many yards. A close inspection, though, might discover proof of Rhizosphaera needle cast, a fungus that attacks this non-native species. Brown needles, or piles of needles beneath a tree, are a symptom. Treatment can thwart the fungus from devastating and eventually killing these lovely trees.

Another option – again, long before reaching this point – is planting trees with similar appearance, yet much more resistance to insects and disease. Concolor firs and Norway spruces are substitutes for Colorado spruces.

Other tree species in Dodge County are susceptible to fungi diseases, too. Oaks suffer oak wilt. Elms contract Dutch elm disease. Pre-emptive inspection can identify these circumstances in time to save the trees.

Application of fungicides can block root rot, an ailment that affects trees growing in wet soil. Root rot isn’t picky, either – its decay affects trees from a variety of species.

Insect pests pose serious dangers to residential trees. Insects are usually host specific, meaning they target one species. The deadly bronze birch borer attacks birches. Linden borers mainly target lindens. 

The emerald ash borer has been an unwelcome initiation for Dodge County homeowners. The Asian invasive has decimated ash trees across Dodge County and Wisconsin in recent years.

Another invasive, the spotted lanternfly, is heading west after its discovery in Pennsylvania in 2014. The China native feeds on more than 70 tree species, including maples, oaks, lindens, hickory and black walnut.

Preventing insect damage, once again, is about proactivity. Repellents are applied in two ways: injecting directly into trees, or drenching soil beneath for roots to absorb.

Just as you wouldn’t miss visiting a doctor for years on end, don’t risk the health of your trees. Contact Dorshak Tree Specialists for a complimentary checkup. Yes, their “tree doctors” still make house calls to Dodge County.