SHADE TREE PESTS 5 1 



Remedies. One of the best preventives of borers is to maintain the 

 trees in a flourishing condition. The prompt removal and destruction, 

 in order that no insects may escape to propagate their kind, of infested 

 trees or limbs will do much to keep these pests under control, and in the 

 case of those suffering from a severe attack, is almost the only remedy. 

 The handsome beetles of the maple tree borer are abroad during June, 

 July and August, their eggs being deposited the latter two months. The 

 adults of the elm borer may be found during May and June, the eggs 

 being laid the latter month. If the attack has not proceeded too far 

 and the trees are of sufficient value, a considerable degree of protection 

 will probably be obtained by coating the trunk of the maple and 

 the trunk and larger limbs of the elm with a solution of soft soap and 

 carbolic acid during the period these beetles deposit eggs, thus prevent- 

 ing further infestation. This solution may be applied either as a spray 

 or with brushes and should be renewed as often as washed off by rains 

 during the period of oviposition. In the case of more valuable trees, 

 specially those infested with the fleshy grubs of curculios or weevils, it may 

 pay in some instances to shave away the bark over the infested portions, 

 till living tissues are reached, and kill the borers by the application of kero- 

 sene emulsion, and then protect the treated areas from drying by applying a 

 coating of some thick, adhesive substance, e. g. a mixture of cow dung and 

 lime, grafting wax or other substance. Experiments conducted in 

 France have shown that much more of the bark may be removed, even 

 strips two inches wide, and the trees not only recovered but the borers 

 were killed by the vigorous growth made in the effort to heal the wounds. 

 In case of very severe attacks, this would certainly be worth trying. 

 The best results would probably be obtained if the operation was per- 

 formed in the spring. The pigeon Tremex works so deeply in the wood, 

 that little can be done to arrest its attack, but fortunately it infests only 

 sickly trees, as a rule, and therefore simply aids in the final destruction 

 of a tree. 



Serious injury by the leopard moth can only be prevented, in regions 

 where it occurs, by constant watchfulness. Indications of its presence 

 should lead to immediate examination and the digging out of the borer 

 or the destruction of the infested limb. Some of the more valuable 

 trees in the parks of New York city are protected from this pest by kill- 

 ing the caterpillars in their burrows with a wire and when this is not pos- 

 sible, resort is had to carbon bisulfid, which is injected into the burrow by 

 the aid of a long nosed oil can and the opening is then closed with putty. 



