Protecting Crape Myrtles from Asian Ambrosia Beetles

Asian ambrosia beetles have become a major threat to small trees like crape myrtle, flowering cherry, and Japanese maple since first appearing in Charleston, SC in 1974. Females bore into trees in March and April, introducing a fungus that kills the host.

Spray the bark of susceptible trees with an insecticide labeled for wood-boring insects in early March and again in early April to intercept emerging females before they attack.