If Your Trees Look Unhealthy, Don’t Wait to Contact a “Tree Doctor” in West Bend!

Trees, like people and animals, get sick. How do you identify a “tree doctor” if your trees show signs of poor health?

Leaf loss, in one area or across a tree’s entire crown, is the most typical sign of a problem. Mushroom growth, typically from a trunk or base, is another. A spate of dead limbs can be a symptom.

An ISA-Certified Arborist from Dorshak Tree Specialists is your top choice for prompt, responsive tree treatment service in West Bend! Trained to identify and analyze diseases and insect pests, these tree specialists prescribe solutions for problems that afflict Wisconsin trees.

Changes in leaf color are another identifier. Yellow leaves can be symptomatic of a fertilizer deficiency, often with oaks. Yet, yellow is the normal color of leaves on a sunburst locust tree. A Certified Arborist recognizes the difference, and how to interpret the messages of leaf colors!

Avoiding problems is the most effective approach to tree health. It’s advisable to have your trees inspected every three to five years by a Certified Arborist. Dorshak Tree Service, with seven Certified Arborists on staff, offers this service for free for tree owners in and around West Bend.

What are they searching for? The aforementioned symptoms, of course. Another area of potential alarm is crevices or cavities in trees, where moisture and insects collect. The goal is to spot ongoing or possible problems early. Blocking a disease or insect infestation is far simpler than curing them once established.

Colorado blue spruces dot many yards. A close inspection, though, might discover evidence of Rhizosphaera needle cast, a fungus that attacks this non-native species. Brown needles, or piles of needles beneath a tree, are a giveaway. Treatment can stop the fungus from devastating and eventually killing these lovely trees.

Another possibility – again, long before reaching this point – is planting trees with similar aesthetics, yet much more resistance to insects and disease. Concolor firs and Norway spruces are substitutes for Colorado spruces.

Other tree species in West Bend are susceptible to fungi diseases, too. Oaks suffer oak wilt. Elms contract Dutch elm disease. Proactive inspection can identify these circumstances in time to save the trees.

Application of fungicides can avoid root rot, an ailment that affects trees growing in wet soil. Root rot isn’t selective, either – its decay affects trees from a variety of species.

Insect pests pose serious threats to residential trees. Insects are usually host specific, meaning they target one species. The deadly bronze birch borer goes after birches. Linden borers mostly target lindens. 

The emerald ash borer has been a rude initiation for West Bend homeowners. The Asian invasive has decimated ash trees across West Bend and Wisconsin in recent years.

Another invasive, the spotted lanternfly, is moving west after its discovery in Pennsylvania in 2014. The China native feeds on more than 70 tree species, including maples, oaks, lindens, hickory and black walnut.

Avoiding insect harm, once again, is about proactivity. Repellents are applied in two ways: injecting directly into trees, or drenching soil beneath for roots to take in.

Just as you wouldn’t miss visiting a doctor for years on end, don’t gamble with the health of your trees. Contact Dorshak Tree Specialists for a complimentary checkup. Yes, their “tree doctors” still make house calls to West Bend.