If Your Trees Look Sick, Don’t Wait to Look Up a “Tree Doctor” in Muskego!

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

Leaf loss, in one section or across a tree’s entire crown, is the most usual 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 top choice for prompt, responsive tree treatment service in Muskego! Educated to identify and analyze diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe remedies for ailments that affect Wisconsin trees.

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

Preventing 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 Muskego.

What are they hunting for? The aforementioned symptoms, of course. Another sign of potential alarm is crevices or cavities in trees, where moisture and insects collect. The goal is to identify existing or possible problems early. Avoiding a disease or insect infestation is much simpler than curing them once established.

Colorado blue spruces fill many yards. A close look, though, might discover proof of Rhizosphaera needle cast, a fungus that attacks this non-native species. Brown needles, or collected needles beneath a tree, are a giveaway. Treatment can stop the fungus from decimating and eventually killing these beautiful 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 Muskego are susceptible to fungi diseases, too. Oaks suffer oak wilt. Elms contract Dutch elm disease. Pre-emptive inspection can identify these conditions in time to save the trees.

Application of fungicides can avoid root rot, a condition that affects trees growing in wet soil. Root rot isn’t picky, either – its decay affects trees from a multitude 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 goes after birches. Linden borers mostly target lindens. 

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

Another invasive, the spotted lanternfly, is inching 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 often a matter of proactivity. Repellents are applied in two ways: injecting directly into trees, or drenching soil beneath for roots to take in.

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 Muskego.