Question
tree bark
I just bought a house and my favorite tree is now (was fine last summer) full of cracking bark - some of them are leaking. When I looked closely I saw a little caterpillar - or worm and a few insects inside the humid crack of the bark. I am quite sure you will tell me that I will lose it, whicb makes me very very sad, as it was my favorite spot in the yard. Could there be a sliver of hope?
AnswerLooks like borer damage. I would spray the trunk with an insecticide called Merit. This will kill the insect under the bark. Borers attack trees under stress so I would fertilize the tree with 10-10-10 fertilizer at the rate of 1 lb per inch of trunk diameter scattered around the tree and watered in good.
