Mystery "Dust" On Top Of My Soil

[sikadelic]

Hey all. I discovered this this evening while watering. It is on the larger collected Bald Cypress with a dead trunk. I first noticed the "dust" like appearance on the top of my soil but then noticed it in a small web as well as stuck directly on the trunk of the tree. I did not see any boring insects or holes as my initial reaction was that it was from Carpenter Bees.

The more I think about it, I think it may be termites since there is so much dead wood there for them to munch on. Any guesses or ideas on how to deal with whatever it is? Thanks.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Depends on the size of hole...we had wood wasps on my garden bench. (Much smaller hole left behind) also it attacked one branch on my peony tree. Pruned it off and killed the wasp that was inside.

What I found on my peony tree leaf...which had me investigate further.

 

[qwade]

Hard to tell from the Pic. Are you certain that this is not something blowing from other nearby flora?

 

[sorce]

Or a neighbors construction project?
I was getting hit with sawdust yesterday from across the street , albeit 20 floors up!

Look harder. And by that I mean, work out, throw on some locs a la Colin Frasier, and look again!

Sorce

 

[Eric Group]

Looks like saw dust, probably some sort of boring critter. If it is... Well it ain't good! Might try a systemic if you can use them in your area.

 

[rockm]

You have either borers (most likely) or carpenter bees (also a boring insect). These insects do NOT consume deadwood, but use it for protection. Exposed deadwood gives off a chemical signal that attracts borers and carpenter bees, like fleas to a dog.
Termites DO consume wood and don't tend to leave sawdust markings.

The sawdust isn't blowing in from some other location. It is coming from the tree directly above it. It's too concentrated for anything else.

Poke around a bit more on the trunk, watch for movement on the trunk. The critters doing it are there. Borers are hard to see. They can stick their heads out of their holes at twilight.

If you want to get rid of whatever it is, you will have to ID them, as treatment can very--I've killed borers simply by smooshing them after digging them out. I've also fumigated termite-ridden trunks with plastic wrap and insecticide...You'd best find out soon what this is. Borers can kill trees if left alone. They burrow through the deadwood to find sapwood, which they consumer from the inside of the tree. If they eat a path that girdles the tree's trunk, the tree will die...

 

[sikadelic]

Thanks for the advice guys. Darlene, it looks very much like what you posted. I looked around and didn't see a hole, but admittedly, I only spent a couple of minutes as it was dinner time with the boys and time to get them ready for bed. I will have to look in the morning since I am pulling a 13 hour shift today and it will be dark when I get home.

I am sure it is not blowing in from another area. There were several potted trees around on the bench but this was the only one afflicted. It was also very concentrated on the rear of the trunk itself as well as on the soil only on the backside. I wouldn't mind to cut the majority of the deadwood off as I don't have any plans for much carving...only a small area. I will report back after I can investigate a bit further and hopefully find some clues.

 

[sikadelic]

I wanted to come back and update after I looked around out there yesterday.

First, I noticed a lot more sawdust on top of my soil. It was easily 2 or 3 times more than when I first noticed. I looked up and down the trunk and saw several small holes. In total, I found at least 10-12 holes. I decided to cut most of the dead trunk off as I didn't plan on leaving much for carving anyway. I took the trunk section and cut directly in between two holes and then peeled the bark back. I found 2 fat little grubs/larvae. I have no idea what they are. Anybody have a clue??

 

[sorce]

Hakuna Matata!

Sorce

 

[sikadelic]

Any other input guys? I am sure there are a few grubs left on the dead trunk that remains in the pot. If they will just chew up some dead wood, no problem as I will have left to carve later. I'm thinking I should still treat with some bayer or something.

 

[sorce]

Bogus! I wish I knew.
Did you uncover more holes?

Sorce

 

[Eric Group]

No clue what they are from the pic honestly man, but I don't ever encourage allowing an infestation to go untreated. Bayer is a good idea.

 

[sikadelic]

I do have some maliathon laying around. I will cover the soil and give it a good dose to see if the dust stops collecting. I have yet to see the little boogers moving up and down the trunk and I assume they don't from my investigative work. The only way I can tell if they're still around is by noticing the dust on top of my soil.

 

[sorce]

I do have some maliathon laying around. I will cover the soil and give it a good dose to see if the dust stops collecting. I have yet to see the little boogers moving up and down the trunk and I assume they don't from my investigative work. The only way I can tell if they're still around is by noticing the dust on top of my soil.

You might be able to hear them in a quiet room with a stethoscope.

Sorce

 

[rockm]

Those are borers. They DO NOT EAT DEADWOOD. They eat live sapwood. They just burrow into deadwood for protection while they eat the sapwood. I would not leave them alone. I would find and kill each one, as you've done with the two already out of the tree. You have quite an infestation going.

 

[sikadelic]

Those are borers. They DO NOT EAT DEADWOOD. They eat live sapwood. They just burrow into deadwood for protection while they eat the sapwood. I would not leave them alone. I would find and kill each one, as you've done with the two already out of the tree. You have quite an infestation going.

Thanks Rock. The only problem is I can't see the little bastards. I sprayed with Maliathon night before last but have no clue if it penetrated that deep into the wood. I think my best bet would be to remove all the dead wood where I see entry holes and watch for any additional sawdust buildup.

 

[Cadillactaste]

You can treat for boarers...when I thought I might have them my local nursery had stuff to treat. But stated one only treats if properly diagnosed as boarers. I would intact your local nursery/landscaping company and see what they suggest.

 

[Dav4]

Nick Lenz would cover an entire tree with a trash bag and empty a can of raid into it before sealing it up for the night. He also recommended squirting lindane into the borer holes...lindane is pretty much impossible to find these days, I believe.

 

[rockm]

Nick Lenz would cover an entire tree with a trash bag and empty a can of raid into it before sealing it up for the night. He also recommended squirting lindane into the borer holes...lindane is pretty much impossible to find these days, I believe.

I have done this to get rid of termites in a big collected boxwood. It works. I used termite-specific poison. I can't recommend for you to do a similar application, because doing so is against the law.

 

[sikadelic]

I did some damage control today. Since all the upper wood was dead, and was where I saw all the holes, I cut it off as low as possible. I inspected the rest of the tree very well and feel pretty confident that I removed all the afflicted areas. It was not fun, but it needed to be done. I had planned on removing it all anyway so I can't complain too much. Next step will be to take it to the next club meeting where I can get some practice carving it down to live tissue. I will update with some pics later on when I get them uploaded and re-sized.