Botanic Garden >> Gardening > >> Question and Answer >> Plant Species >> Trees

Cherry Tree Borers: Fruit Safety and Trunk Treatment

Owner asks if borers in trunk affect fruit edibility (cherries look fine).

Answer: Fruit Is Safe

Borers live in woody trunk/limb tissue, not in fruit. Fruit-feeding insects show visible damage on fruit. If cherries look perfect, they're fine to eat.

Borer Control

Spray trunk with Merit (imidacloprid) — kills borers in wood. Safe for fruit (not translocated to fruit). Avoid soil-applied systemics on fruit trees — may reach fruit and make it inedible.

Trees: Propagating Meteor Cherry Trees: Grafting vs. Seed; Transplanting Volunteer Cherry Seedlings: Timing and Hybrid Realities; Growing Cherry Trees from Seed: Stratification and Realities; Growing Cherry Trees from Seed: Understanding Hybrid Genetics and Cold Stratification; Cherry Tree Root Damage from Pool: Prune Dead, Fertilize; Cherry Tree Decline After Construction Root Damage; Cherry Tree Growth Rate and Fast-Growing Alternatives; Mystery Fruit Tree in Lower Michigan: Cherry-Raspberry Hybrid?; Tree Identification in Phoenix: Why Local Expertise Matters; History of the Cherry Tree

Garden Articles

Weeping Cherry Gummosis: Borer Management and Fruit Production

Cherry Tree Gummosis: Peach Tree Borer Management

Mature Weeping Cherry Decline: Sap, Borers, Cankers, and Winter Injury

Stone Fruit Pest Management: Neem Oil for Plum/Peach and Poison Ivy Control

Growing Cherry Trees from Pits: Cold Stratification Required

Loquat Tree Fruiting from Seed

Identifying and Treating White Grubs at Fruit Tree Roots

Plants

Pecan Tree No Nuts: Water, Zinc, Fertilizer, Pruning Guide

Nectarine Fruit Drop at Quarter Size: Natural June Drop

Pomelo Tree Hijacked by Sour Orange Rootstock: Graft Takeover Confirmed

Diagnosing a Non-Flowering Cherry Tree: Is It Dead?

Preventing Sycamore Fruit (Seed Balls) with Florel

Identifying a Prunus Tree in Oklahoma: Peach, Plum, Apricot, or Apple?

Cherry Tree Gummosis: Causes, Diagnosis, and Proper Care