What causes this pine tree problem?

[old and tired]

Here's what my Pine beetle disease looks like when the tree is dead........

That's Blue Stain Fungus that is found in the gut of the southern pine beetles... Blue Stain Fungus was one of the things we were studying / looking at back in the early 80's (I'm sure even way before then...) Trying to see if the fungus helped SPB get established or hinder the establishment.

Fun times, dissecting the mid gut of SPB's looking for the amount of Blue Stain Spores - did several 1000's.

Shout out to Pineville, LA and the US Forest Circus for my summer job climbing pine trees!!!

 

[ruffdog]

I was losing about 100 scotch pine a year and it was accelerating. I also had needle cast in the blue spruce. I had 1800 of them removed and chipped. My norway spruce, white spruce, and frasier fir so far are doing fine.

 

[EddieWalker]

Out marking trees for removal and saw this. Anyone know what it is?

My neighbor is the pilot for the a huge forestry company out of Kilgore. They have their own private Forester, who manages tens of thousands of acres of land that they own and lease. He had the Forester come out to his place and look at his pines. Some of mine have the exact same thing happening to them.

The Forester said that when we had that big freeze back in February, some of the pines had a lot of water in them. It had been extra wet just before the freeze and the conditions where ideal for the pines to really soak up excessive water. That water froze inside of the trees and killed them.

It is NOT beetle damage. The most obvious way to know it's not from beetles is that the trees are isolated. None of the surrounding pines are dead. On my place, it's only the mature pines that died. They died fast, unlike beetle kill, or other ways for trees to die. They died so fast that they started rotting away right away, which is why the bark started falling off of them so quickly.

There is nothing you can do about this other then remove the tree, or let it fall apart on it's own.

 

[Torvy]

My neighbor is the pilot for the a huge forestry company out of Kilgore. They have their own private Forester, who manages tens of thousands of acres of land that they own and lease. He had the Forester come out to his place and look at his pines. Some of mine have the exact same thing happening to them.

The Forester said that when we had that big freeze back in February, some of the pines had a lot of water in them. It had been extra wet just before the freeze and the conditions where ideal for the pines to really soak up excessive water. That water froze inside of the trees and killed them.

It is NOT beetle damage. The most obvious way to know it's not from beetles is that the trees are isolated. None of the surrounding pines are dead. On my place, it's only the mature pines that died. They died fast, unlike beetle kill, or other ways for trees to die. They died so fast that they started rotting away right away, which is why the bark started falling off of them so quickly.

There is nothing you can do about this other then remove the tree, or let it fall apart on it's own.

Thanks. My biggest concern is preventing any damage to spread to other trees. This one is a bit on the small side compared to those further back. I only saw damage on two trees. We didn't have time yesterday to cover all 20 acres.

 

[Jstpssng]

As others have said it looks like the bark damage was done after the tree had died. Rather than watching the bark keep an eye out for red trees. A drone would be great for that kind of thing.

 

[jyoutz]

Thanks, I'll have to look a little closer and check into treatments and prevention. Most of my property is pine forest...I don't want to lose them all, that is half of the reason we bought out here. We are a little far east for the mountain beetle, but probably a cousin.

In your area, it is southern pine beetle. Typically they are at low levels but build up when trees are stressed such as being too dense. But thinning stands during the beetle brood season can also trigger activity (smell of fresh cut pine). Consult your state forestry people for advice.

 

[jyoutz]

My neighbor is the pilot for the a huge forestry company out of Kilgore. They have their own private Forester, who manages tens of thousands of acres of land that they own and lease. He had the Forester come out to his place and look at his pines. Some of mine have the exact same thing happening to them.

The Forester said that when we had that big freeze back in February, some of the pines had a lot of water in them. It had been extra wet just before the freeze and the conditions where ideal for the pines to really soak up excessive water. That water froze inside of the trees and killed them.

It is NOT beetle damage. The most obvious way to know it's not from beetles is that the trees are isolated. None of the surrounding pines are dead. On my place, it's only the mature pines that died. They died fast, unlike beetle kill, or other ways for trees to die. They died so fast that they started rotting away right away, which is why the bark started falling off of them so quickly.

There is nothing you can do about this other then remove the tree, or let it fall apart on it's own.

Beetles can kill individuals if the individual is stressed. I’m a forester, but there’s no way to diagnose this remotely. A visit to the site is really the only way to assess the situation.

 

[retdagm]

Out marking trees for removal and saw this. Anyone know what it is?

my wife-who is a certified arborist-says it looks like damage from pine bark beetles

 

[allenron]

Out marking trees for removal and saw this. Anyone know what it is?

Hi Torvy: I would guess that the tree has been attacked by bark beetles. You're in Texas, and a common pine tree pest there is the Black Turpentine Beetle, Dendroctonus terebrans. Those reddish, fuzzy tracks are the galleries that the beetles chew into the living part of the tree. The Black Turpentines cause horizontal paths that turn downward, just about like in your photo. Another sign is white splotches on the lower part of the trunk of a pine. Those are pitch tubes, where the beetle has bored in through the outer bark, and the tree is trying to "pitch out" the beetle...basically smother it with pitch and push it out from the inner bark. If the pitch tube is white, the tree may have won the battle. If the pitch tube is pink, it's likely that the tree lost. Hope this helps.

 

[timetobakethedonuts]

With all due respect, there was no way to know the picture that you provided was taken 40 feet in the air. You were out marking trees - which is more likely walking the property and not in a helicopter. The natural assumption would be it was taken near the ground.

 

[oneal hicks]

Southern Pine Beetles

 

[CampHamp]

Those insect trails are probably made by the pine sawyer beetle. I see those frass markings often. If you rip off more bark, they could still be at work just under cover.

Pine Sawyer Beetles - Oklahoma State University

A page dedicated to understanding Pine Sawyer Beetles, their hosts, symptoms, descriptions and control properties.

entoweb.okstate.edu

The tree would have been stressed by some other cause before they came in to feed. I cannot see any evidence indicating the original cause of distress but I like the ideas mentioned here about looking for similar damage in other trees, inspected the sawn wood and getting your county forester in to inspect.

 

[kipgary]

Out marking trees for removal and saw this. Anyone know what it is?

Looks like pine bark Beatles. They can kill large trees very quickly.

https://www.treefolks.org/wp-content/uploads/012-Pine_Bark_Beetles.pdf

 

[marhar]

Probably beetles.

Forest Health: Mountain Pine Beetle - Rocky Mountain National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

www.nps.gov

Probably beetles.

Forest Health: Mountain Pine Beetle - Rocky Mountain National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

www.nps.gov

It is Pin beetles. When the trees are alive one can see sap coming out of the holes the beetles make and if one listens closely the noise the beetles make is audible. On the picture you posted one can see the sawdust the beetles made when boring into the tree. Back in the day we used to use chlordane (it is no longer sold in the US) to try to stop the beetles form getting into other pines.

 

[stso9d]

Out marking trees for removal and saw this. Anyone know what it is?

It looks like termites or ant trails to me.

After having had 40 pines trees removed I would never recommend planting them as some have suggested. They are a nuisance tree. They cannot be used for firewood. they will not let grass grow and their pine needles are a pain to deal with. Spring time pollen is unreal.

RA

 

[stso9d]

It is Pin beetles. When the trees are alive one can see sap coming out of the holes the beetles make and if one listens closely the noise the beetles make is audible. On the picture you posted one can see the sawdust the beetles made when boring into the tree. Back in the day we used to use chlordane (it is no longer sold in the US) to try to stop the beetles form getting into other pines.

 

[stso9d]

If I had known this, I would have had them to get rid on my pines...

 

[manzer7]

Out marking trees for removal and saw this. Anyone know what it is?

It looks like a standing dead tree that has died off quite a few years ago and the bugs have been feeding for a long time.
I am not a forester but I do have lots of dead trees on my land that are still standing and that is what I see. I have a 59 acre wood lot that I play in with my tractor and my 1946 Jeep.

 

[TC 30]

I had the same thing on a few hemlocks, pileated wood peckers were all over it, tearing off the bark to get the beetles.

 

[Bobrown14]

It might be antler rubs from a rutting buck...

KC

My first thought and also bears like to scratch to leave their scent (not that its hard to smell) at human eye height. Should see tracks from deer and/or bear. Hope its not beetles. Look at the top of the tree and see if there's any dead spots at the top.