Texas Oak Wilt Treatment Specialist

Cody’s Tree Service has a Texas Oak Wilt Arborist on staff with more than 30 years of experience diagnosing, treating, and healing live oak and red oak trees in Katy, Texas. If you notice any beetles on your oaks or other signs of an infestation call (281) 391-3450 or email us to schedule an assessment with our tree doctors. The key to beating oak wilt is early diagnosis, don’t wait until the tree is sick and unable to recover.

Oak Wilt Treatment

We treat oak wilt carefully by bandaging any gouges and craters on the tree’s bark from the voracious beetles that cause oak wilt.  These insects feed on a very specific type of oak fungus, and when a tree is growing fungus while also getting eaten by bugs it becomes very stressed and vulnerable.

The best way to stop oak wilt from spreading quickly to other oak trees is to prevent it. One of the most effective ways to prevent it is having your tree trimming team clean trimming blades and saws with alcohol in between trees. 

Because oak wilt infestations can spread so easily it’s important to bandage any open tree wounds from the beetle damage so that airborne fungus spores  do not land on exposed inner bark.

Oak Wilt Identification

Identifying oak wilt is not easy for the untrained eye. If your oak trees appear ill, you should contact an oak wilt treatment specialist. Some of the warning signs of a problem are fungus on the tree’s bark, yellow leaves toward the top and center of the tree, and patches of missing tree bark on the trunk and limbs.

Signs of Oak Wilt

Attached or fallen yellow or brown veining on an oak tree’s leaves or on the edge of leaves is a symptom of oak wilt, but some infections are not symptomatic. Like viruses, every infection prevents a slightly different set of symptoms and sometimes no symptoms.

The Southern Live Oak and Coastal Live Oak are the most common tree species in Texas. Take a look at leaves from Live Oak Trees infected with oak wilt so you’ll know what to look out for.

Oak Wilt Prevention Tips

We put the following tips together to help prevent the spread of oak wilt.

  • Cleaning trimming and pruning tools with disinfectant between trees
  • Plant diverse tree varieties around oaks because biodiversity helps trees stay healthy
  • Don’t move infected oak tree logs to a place with susceptible oaks nearby
  • Avoid pruning and trimming oaks from late winter to early summer
  • Cover or paint pruning cut wounds to protect them from infection

Oak Wilt Map

View the interactive tree pest map by the United States Department of Agriculture here. You can filter the map by pest type and select oak wilt, then zoom in to see specific counties with confirmed oak wilt infections and how many confirmed trees are infected.

Texas Oak Wilt Disease Spread

Oak wilt can be spread by beetles moving from one tree to another, from airborne or physical contact with fungus, and from underground roots touching. When beetles feed on and wound oak tree bark they also carry fungal spores to the inner bark that’s extremely susceptible to infection.

Schedule an Oak Wilt Inspection or Treatment

Contact Cody’s Tree Service, Inc. online or call (281) 291-3450 to request an appoint with our oak tree doctors in Katy or Fulshear, Texas today.

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