If Your Trees Look Ill, Don’t Wait to Contact a “Tree Doctor” in West Bend!

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

Leaf loss, in one section or across a tree’s entire crown, is the most usual symptom of a problem. Mushroom growth, typically 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 West Bend! Trained to recognize and analyze diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe treatments for problems that afflict Wisconsin trees.

Changes in leaf color are another identifier. Yellow leaves can be evidence of a fertilizer deficit, often with oaks. However, yellow is the normal color of leaves on a sunburst locust tree. A Certified Arborist recognizes the difference, and how to interpret the messages of leaf colors!

Avoiding problems is the most practical 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 West Bend.

What are they searching for? The aforementioned symptoms, of course. Another sign of note is crevices or cavities in trees, where moisture and insects gather. The goal is to identify ongoing or potential problems proactively. Preventing a disease or insect infestation is far easier than curing them once established.

Colorado blue spruces dot many yards. A close inspection, though, might discover signs 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 ultimately killing these beautiful trees.

Another possibility – 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 West Bend are vulnerable to fungi diseases, too. Oaks suffer oak wilt. Elms contract Dutch elm disease. Proactive inspection can identify these conditions in time to save the trees.

Application of fungicides can block root rot, a condition that afflicts trees growing in wet soil. Root rot isn’t choosy, either – its decay affects trees from a wide range of species.

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

The emerald ash borer has been an unwelcome initiation for West Bend homeowners. The Asian invasive has decimated ash trees across West Bend 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.

Avoiding insect harm, 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 skip visiting a doctor for years on end, don’t gamble with the health of your trees. Contact Dorshak Tree Specialists for a complimentary checkup. Yes, their “tree doctors” still make house calls to West Bend.