Crabapple Trunk Damage and Dead Top Branches: Borer Suspected

7-year-old crabapple in Vermont blooms well, leaves healthy, but trunk has bark damage and top branches dead for first time.

Likely: Borer Insects

Boring insects drill into bark; may see clear sap gum. They disrupt vascular tissue, killing upper branches.

Check local nursery for borer insecticide options (systemic soil drenches work best).
Contact county extension for specific recommendations.

Getting insecticide to the insect inside wood is the challenge.

Plant Diseases: Ash/Hickory Leaf Spot: Fungal Disease Management and Tree Identification; Clustering Insects on Tree Branches: Scale or Beetles?; Young Orange Tree with Dead Limbs and Sap: Scale or Aphids Likely; Crabapple Sparse Blooms and Bark Craters: Atomic Grow for Insect Cleanup and Vigor; Peach Tree Amber Resin: Borer Infestation; Sawdust Threads on Oak Tree: Wood Borers or Caterpillar Frass—Diagnosis Steps; Identifying and Treating Borer Infestation in Crabapple Trees; Bees Swarming Your Linden? It's Likely Aphids or Scale, Not the Tree; Killing a Nuisance Tree Near Pool: Cut It Down, Don't Just Poison It; Decay Fungi vs. Oak Wilt in Tennessee Oaks

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