Although it’s tempting to desire, a completely insect free yard would not be normal or healthy for your landscape!  A variety of microorganisms, pests, and insects are necessary for the balance of nature and overall tree health.  The key, is knowing when the naturally occurring insects and diseases begin to cause problems for your trees. This is when an integrated pest management (IPM) program is helpful.

IPM creates the steps needed to promote a healthy landscape by providing insect control to prevent destructive pest outbreaks.  IPM strives to maintain the health of your trees. One of the ways to maintain tree health is to make sure you have diverse types of trees as well as a variety of ages.  For example, the pests on a younger tree could be naturally regulated by the parasites and predators that are already well established on an older tree.  Also, keep your landscape properly trimmed and thinned.  When trees are overcrowded, they compete for the things that sustain them such as light, water, and soil nutrients.  This can stress the trees causing them to be more susceptible to destructive pests.

If you see symptoms of poor health on your trees such as dieback on the upper limbs, yellowing needles or leaves, or severe thinning foliage, contact a certified Tree Tech arborist right away.  Tree Tech professionals can examine, diagnose, and create a personalized integrated pest management program that will ensure the health and beauty of the trees you love for years to come!

For more information about all of Tree Tech’s many tree services including tree disease diagnosis, insect control and tree treatments, visit www.TreeTechInc.net or call us at 888-873-3832.  We provide complete tree services in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Do your hemlocks have a grayish appearance?  Are they dropping needles, especially on the interior of the branches?  Then, you may have an infestation of hemlock woolly adelgid. 

The hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae), native to Asia, is a small, aphidlike insect that threatens tree health and sustainability of the Eastern hemlock and Carolina hemlock in the Eastern United States. The insect was first reported in the US in 1951 near Richmond, Virginia. By 2005, it was established in portions of 16 states from Maine to Georgia, where infestations covered about half of the range of hemlock. 

Hemlock decline and mortality can occur in as little as 3 to 6 years, so immediate action is necessary.  Unfortunately, once this pest is in an area, it will always pose a threat to the hemlocks, even those that have been treated. All hemlocks should be checked several times a year and treatments applied when woolly adelgid is spotted.

The hemlock woolly adelgid is tiny, less than 1/16-inch long, and varies from dark reddish-brown to purplish-black in color. As it matures, it produces a covering of wool-like wax to protect itself and its eggs from natural enemies and prevent them from drying out. This “wool” is most obvious when the adelgid is mature and laying eggs. It can be easily seen from late fall to early summer on the underside of the outermost branch tips of hemlock trees.

Once a Tree Tech certified arborist has diagnosed your trees, treatment can be started. A successful tree treatment option to control an infestation of woolly adelgid is to spray trees with horticultural oil. The horticultural oil is an insecticide consisting of super refined petroleum oil. The adelgids breath through their skin, so when this oil is sprayed on them and dries, it smothers them. We recommend two treatments per year for infested trees. This tree treatment provides protection, but don’t be fooled.  Even if it appears that the problem is “solved”, the pest will always return, so continue treatment each year to preserve the heath of your hemlocks.

For more information about Tree Tech’s many tree services, and to contact a certified arborist, visit http://www.treetechinc.net/ or call us at 888-873-3832.  We provide complete tree care services throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Lace Bug

You may have noticed that the Lace Bug has been very active in our area the last several years and has negatively affected tree and plant health. The adults have highly ornamented wings and a hood-like structure covering the head. The entire surface is covered with veins that look like lace .The Lace Bug affects many broadleaf evergreens especially Andromeda, Rhododendron and Laurel.  Lace bugs are usually detected when their damage to the leaves of host plants becomes evident. The nymphs and adults live on the lower surface of leaves and suck juices through slender, piercing mouthparts. This produces yellow or whitish spots on the upper surface of the leaf. As the insects feed, they deposit a hard, varnish-like excrement onto the leaf surface. These are called tar spots or resin spots. The damage gives the leaf a mottled appearance and inhibits the plant’s ability to produce chlorophyll. Treatments with “systemic” insecticides work best. Plants that attract lace bugs should be monitored early in order to determine if an infestation is building. Elimination of the first generation of lace bugs is necessary if visual damage is to be avoided. If you suspect you have a Lace Bug infestation or if you would like to prevent one, contact a Tree Tech certified tree care specialist right away.

Tree Tech Inc. is a Massachusetts tree service company providing tree care & preservation, tree removal, pruning and insect control for trees & shrubs and a full range of certified arborist services throughout Massachusetts & Rhode Island.

With hurricane season upon us, it is more important than ever to consider preparing your trees to withstand the rush of Mother Nature’s storms.  Fallen and damaged trees can cost homeowners a bundle as well as create a mess on your property!  Tree Tech is always there to assist with storm clean up, but we’d also like to help you prevent the problem by properly pruning your trees.

Preventative maintenance is the key to creating strong trees that can withstand opposition. Pruning densely branched and over grown trees goes a long way towards preventing your trees from being damaged by severe wind storms or snow and ice loads.  Properly pruned trees look natural but are structurally stronger, and often times will have improved shape and form, than other trees.  Prevention may also include the removal of trees and limbs determined to be hazardous or more vulnerable to failure. Tree Tech’s Certified Arborists can give you an evaluation of your trees at no cost.  They can prioritize and itemize your landscape needs, offering options and plans to help protect and preserve your trees and shrubs.  It’s never too late to address potential problems.

Tree Tech Inc. is a Massachusetts tree service company providing tree care & preservation, tree removal, pruning and insect control for trees & shrubs and a full range of certified arborist services throughout Massachusetts & Rhode Island.

Many trees in our area, especially the beautiful weeping cherry, were hit hard this winter by the winter moth insect. The winter moth is an insect pest that was introduced to North America from Europe. Its introduction has been known for years in various regions of eastern Canada.   Winter moth was introduced into the United States and is now in Massachusetts in outbreak proportions.  However, many different deciduous plants are susceptible. These include: oaks, maples, basswood, ash, crabapples, apple, blueberry, and certain spruces.  Young larvae (caterpillars) are tiny inchworms that tunnel into buds where they feed from bud to bud. Delayed bud opening due to cool weather conditions can lead to bud death as the caterpillars have longer time to feed. Older larvae feed in the expanding leaf clusters and are capable of creating defoliation in high populations. Research in Canada has shown that four consecutive years of partial defoliation due to the moth can lead to branch mortality while complete defoliation in each of those years leads to tree mortality. Trees damaged or defoliated by the winter moth will benefit from an application of Tree Tech’s organic fertilizer and bio-stimulants.  Deep watering during dry periods and Tree Tech’s special methods of recovery will help save the trees that matter so much to you and our environment!

Tree Tech’s certified arborists are dedicated to the care and preservation of trees and shrubs. Our fleet of equipment and trained arborists are able deliver a full range of tree services including tree preservation, tree trimming, cutting and tree removal. Tree Tech also provides land clearing, plus tree and shrub fertilizing, insect and disease control services.

Tree Tech Inc. of Foxboro is a strong supporter of environmental stewardship and we need your help to support a new “National Tree Planting Program.”  The Small Business Environmental Stewardship Assistance Act (H.R. 4509) would reauthorize the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) “National Tree Planting Program.” Administered by the SBA, this matching grant program would leverage federal resources to allow state forestry agencies to contract with local nurseries, arborists and landscape professionals to plant trees around retail storefronts, rental housing complexes and community parks. During the programs brief existence in the 1990s, more than 18,000 companies were employed to plant more than 23 million trees across the country. These projects created green industry jobs, promoted energy efficiency, contributed invaluable environmental benefits and made retail and commercial areas more appealing.

The program is under consideration for funding again, and we need your help! Passage of H.R. 4509 would reauthorize SBA’s National Tree Planting Program at $50 million annually for FY2011 through FY2015. Congress must hear from you, your colleagues, family and friends to make this bill a reality.

A House version of the SBESA Act, H.R. 4509, was introduced by Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR) on January 26 and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced a Senate version. Contact your elected representatives and tell them you support the Small Business Environmental Stewardship Assistance Act.

Andy Felix, President of Tree Tech Inc is meeting with the Town of Foxboro Massachusetts planning board to help establish by-laws for the installation of Wind Turbines in commercial & residential areas.  Currently there are no by-laws governing these structures and without those laws they cannot be permitted.  His involvement is a result of Tree Tech’s desire to install Wind generated power to help offset the company’s electrical dependency and further reduce the company’s carbon foot print.

Tree Tech’s certified arborists are dedicated to the care and preservation of trees and shrubs. Our fleet of equipment and trained arborists are able deliver a full range of tree services including tree preservation, tree trimming, cutting and tree removal. Tree Tech also provides land clearing, plus tree and shrub fertilizing, insect and disease control services.

According to Horticulture Weekly, around 2,000 trees will be felled and replaced with 10,000 new conifers next winter in Bourne Wood near Farnham, Surrey, which doubled as Sherwood Forest for the film Robin Hood.

“Replanting is vital for sustainable forestry and in helping to combat climate change,” said a representative for the Forestry Commission, which owns the woodland.”The older trees are felled for timber when they are mature so that new trees can be planted to provide an attractive wood for the next generation.”

In the latest movie version of Robin Hood, Russell Crowe makes his big entrance emerging from a path behind the Scots pines at Bourne Wood. The woodland was last visited by the film maker Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe more than 10 years ago when filming Gladiator.

Pam Eastwood, film liaison officer for the Forestry Commission, said the movie sets took 4 months to build, with trees used to create palisade walls and fortifications.”Robin Hood has once again made Bourne Wood one of those memorable movie scenes that will be watched worldwide for years to come,” she said. Tree thinning and felling is part of a 10-year plan to protect the wood for the future, she said. It includes tree planting and removal of invasive and non-native shrubs.

Tree Tech Inc. is a Massachusetts tree service company providing tree care & preservation, tree removal, pruning and insect control for trees & shrubs and a full range of certified arborist services throughout Massachusetts & Rhode Island.

As part of Massachusett’s Asian Longhorn Beetle Cooperative Eradication Program, Tree Tech has been certified to remove trees and perform work to prevent the spread of ALB throughout the greater Worcester area. Efforts include treating potential “host” trees in the spring. But spring is short in Massachusetts, so last fall a new treatment was attempted. 82 trees in the Worcester area were treated with chemicals. 

The treatment will flow through the vascular system of the trees and hopefully in the spring when the ALB begins to feed, they will ingest the chemicals and die before mating or laying more eggs. The USDA will be monitoring these trees to see if the treatment last fall was successful.

To follow the ALB in your local area, a map of outlying infestations (known infested trees outside the areas where removals are currently occurring) is available by clicking here. Keep in mind that a full survey of the regulated area is still underway, so this map is likely to change.

If you suspect that your trees are infested with Asian Longhorn Beetle, please contact the USDA or Tree Tech immediately. Our Certified Arborists are trained in the identification of ALB and can help provide you with the proper steps toward dealing with this serious pest. To get regular updates on the status of the Asian Longhorn Beetle, quarantine information and regional updates go to: www.beetlebusters.com.

For more information about Tree Tech’s insect control  and tree treatment services, please visit us at www.TreeTechInc.net. Sign up for our newsletter to receive helpful tree and shrub care tips and information throughout the year.

Most tree and shrub diseases affecting plants are fungal in nature. Fungus emits spores that travel from plant to plant by vectors such as wind, rain and bees. Different fungus attack plant tissue in different ways. Some attack stems and trunks of plants, these are known as cankers. Other diseases attack the leaf area causing browning and often premature leaf drop. Many plants can live with infections, however the aesthetic implications may warrant treatment.

Tree diseases can be treated in a multitude of ways, the most common is the form of a spray that covers the leaf and stem areas. Most disease treatments of this kind require two to three applications to prevent infection throughout the susceptibility period. Injection of materials into the trunk or the soil allows the plant to absorb the product into its vascular system. This method can be very effective and offer longer residual than conventional spraying. However, it can be most costly and it is not that effective in dealing with certain pathogens and in some cases can injure the tree.

Tree Tech’s certified plant health experts are licensed to treat tree and shrub diseases. If you suspect that your trees or shrubs may be infected, please contact us for a site visit and diagnostic evaluation. For more information about our plant health services and tree disease diagnosis and treatment, visit www.TreeTechInc.net or call us at 888-873-3832. We provide complete tree care services throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Tree Tech, Inc. is proud to provide expert tree service throughout Massachusetts & Rhode Island. Here is what one of our recent customers had to say…

Kevin,

Thanks to you and your team for the great work last week. The back yard gets a lot more sunlight and everything feels a lot safer for me and my neighbors.

I am not sure where to begin with regards to the service. Your team coordinated everything perfectly prior to the commencement of work, showed up on time, was pleasant to me and neighbors, did a fantastic job, and cleaned everything up.

My wife has commented to a few people that “they showed up in the morning and by 1:00pm in the afternoon it was as if they had never been there. The street was actually cleaner when they left!!”

This job presented a number of unique challenges and your team’s confidence was a big factor in making me feel at ease with this whole process. Please send the guys another thank you for me (and from all my neighbors.) Furthermore, if you guys need any referrals, please feel free to add my name to the list. I would gladly help out.

Regards,

Gregory Boyd

Boston, Massachusetts