Sap Collecting On Bark Of Pine Tree – When Do I Treat It?

Q: I recently discovered that several of my pine tree’s have sap collecting on the bark. How do you know when they need to be cut down or treated? Can the trees survive long term or is it just a question of time? 

A: Pines can certainly survive a beetle attack. It all depends on how many tunnels the beetles have made underneath the bark. If they bore lots of tunnels, water can’t get to the top of the tree and the pine dies. If your trees look healthy, just continue to monitor them each week. If the needles turn yellow and then turn brown over a month’s time the trees will need to be removed. Because pine beetles can attack the tree from ground level up to fifty feet high, spraying insecticide is not possible for a homeowner. In very dry weather, give each tree at least three hundred gallons of water per week. Water helps trees repel boring insects by drowning them in sap.