If Your Trees Look Unhealthy, Don’t Wait to Look For a “Tree Doctor” in Okauchee Lake!

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

Leaf loss, in one area 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 top bet for prompt, responsive tree treatment service in Okauchee Lake! Educated to spot and analyze diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe remedies for problems that afflict Wisconsin trees.

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

Preventing problems is the most sound 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 Okauchee Lake.

What are they searching for? The aforementioned symptoms, of course. Another area of concern is crevices or cavities in trees, where moisture and insects gather. The goal is to spot existing or possible problems proactively. Avoiding a disease or insect infestation is much simpler than curing them once established.

Colorado blue spruces dot many yards. A close viewing, though, might find signs of Rhizosphaera needle cast, a fungus that attacks this non-native species. Brown needles, or collected needles beneath a tree, are a symptom. Treatment can thwart the fungus from decimating and ultimately killing these stunning trees.

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

Other tree species in Okauchee Lake are susceptible to fungi diseases, too. Oaks suffer oak wilt. Elms contract Dutch elm disease. Proactive inspection can identify these circumstances in time to save the trees.

Application of fungicides can prevent root rot, an ailment that affects trees growing in wet soil. Root rot isn’t selective, 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 lethal bronze birch borer goes after birches. Linden borers mostly target lindens. 

The emerald ash borer has been a rude initiation for Okauchee Lake homeowners. The Asian invasive has decimated ash trees across Okauchee Lake 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 damage, 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 seeing 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 Okauchee Lake.