Sapsucker Damage on Spruce: Holes and Needle Loss

Diagnosis

Rows of small holes encircling the trunk are made by sapsuckers (woodpeckers). They drill, sap flows, insects come, birds eat insects.

Spray trunk with carbaryl (Sevin) or malathion to kill insects; birds lose food source and leave.
Lower limb needle shed is normal for conifers (they drop oldest set each spring). If new growth tips are green, tree is fine.

Trees: Sawdust Threads on Oak Tree: Wood Borers or Caterpillar Frass—Diagnosis Steps; 40-Year Blue Spruce: Needle Mulch, Fire Risk & Dead Inner Branches; Sitka Spruce Surface Roots Near Foundation: Prune or Remove?; Killing a Nuisance Tree Near Pool: Cut It Down, Don't Just Poison It; Spruce Tree Sprouting "New Trees" on Low Branches: Just Suckers; Fat Albert Spruce Needle Drop: Normal Seasonal Shedding; Spruce Tree Leader Dieback: Causes and Outcome; Decay Fungi vs. Oak Wilt in Tennessee Oaks; Leaning 15-Foot Blue Spruce in Saturated Soil: Get Certified Arborist Assessment; Common Spruce Diseases: Identification and Management

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