!DRILLER pests?

So I bought a weird little trident maple about a month and a half ago. It was from up north so It hadn't come out of dormancy. The past week or so I thought the buds close to the trunk were starting to swell. Nothings opened yet.

I go outside to take picture for the not a contest tree and I see something dripping from the Trident maple, I'm thinking. I didn't see that yesterday and I hadn't touched my plants/ scratch them.

I look a little closer and there is a small 1mm hole drilled into the tree.... I'm like ok wtf. There's a small round of sawdust stuck next to it from whatever bug dug into. I look around hoping it's the only one and I spot 2 more little 1mm holes.
I jam a piece of wire in there to hopefully kill the bug. I hear no squish.
The bug did make it to the holes entrance Prolly to drop off more sawdust right before I walked away so I didn't kill it. It seems like the holes go in about a centimeter and either turn in a different direction or I just can't get the wire in anymore cause it bends. Idk
What should I do? I tried putting dish soap on it cause that's all I have right this moment.
What do I need? and how much damage do you think this is gonna do?

Ahh, I've never had pests and this one is doing work son.

Looks like some sort of borer. Clearwing borer? Best initial treatment is to probe the hole with a fine wire to crush eggs/larvae inside.

Spraying with neem oil - including on the soil - is said to be an effective deterrent.

Insects need air. Like botfly larvae (dont google those) they can be suffocated to some extent, forcing them to leave the hole in search of air. This is an assumption that has worked for me in the past while trying to restore antiques.
Put some vaseline on it, press it in as deeply as you can, then just wait. If there are woodworms inside, they'll come out.
I'm not familiar with american insects, so consider my advice as a last ditch effort.

In Georgia, it's likely to be Ambrosia beetle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrosia_beetle

They lay their eggs in there but also drop off a fungus that feeds the larva. It's the fungus that kills the tree. You can wait it out to see if the tree survives or try to trunk chop below the lowest hole.

-Chuck

Don't chop the tree yet!!! I'd kill the little bastard with a piece of wire first, apply a systemic insecticide, then focus on good husbandry. Most borers attack stressed trees... get your trident growing like it should/could in GA, and your tree should hopefully be fine.

twigboy2000 said:

In Georgia, it's likely to be Ambrosia beetle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrosia_beetle

They lay their eggs in there but also drop off a fungus that feeds the larva. It's the fungus that kills the tree. You can wait it out to see if the tree survives or try to trunk chop below the lowest hole.

-Chuck

Click to expand...

Tree came from a northerly location, so it could be a number of things. Doesn't really matter, it's a borer of some sort. I'd soak a piece of cotton in lime sulfur (or something more toxic) and stuff it in the hole and work it around in there with a piece of wire. You're probably not going to skewer the insect because those tunnels don't go straight back, they meander around up and down etc. The fumes from the lime sulfur (or something stronger) or contact with it could get the job done.

This is a question I've been wanting to ask but haven't yet.
That tree is from PA, it was def dormant getting here. Its been in the Georgia sun (mostly 60-70 degree days with a couple cooler days I brought it inside.)
How long should it take before It comes out of dormancy. Its been exactly 1 month and I could have sworn there were some buds that got a little fatter.... I can't be too sure yet. Let's hope the tree pushes fourth new shoots and starts growing like crazy and kills those borer pests.

I had some acephate insecticide solution that I just went out and sprayed on all my stuff. Hope that deters them tIl I get paid and buy insecticide.

Also looking around at a tree a couple weeks ago I found thousands of what I thought were woodpecker holes....
That is obviously this bug or similar.

SnowfallenGarden said:

This is a question I've been wanting to ask but haven't yet.
That tree is from PA, it was def dormant getting here. Its been in the Georgia sun (mostly 60-70 degree days with a couple cooler days I brought it inside.)
How long should it take before It comes out of dormancy. Its been exactly 1 month and I could have sworn there were some buds that got a little fatter.... I can't be too sure yet. Let's hope the tree pushes fourth new shoots and starts growing like crazy and kills those borer pests.

I had some acephate insecticide solution that I just went out and sprayed on all my stuff. Hope that deters them tIl I get paid and buy insecticide.

Also looking around at a tree a couple weeks ago I found thousands of what I thought were woodpecker holes....
That is obviously this bug or similar. . . .

Click to expand...

Yellow bellied sap sucker. Not just a derogatory term used by Yosemite Sam, it's an actual bird of the woodpecker family. They make the holes and come back and eat the sap later.

The sap suckers & their cousins the Flickers will also get insects from under the bark.

@SnowfallenGarden the borers are most effectively treated with a systemic pesticide, such as imidacloprid, Bayer's trade name is Merit, Bonide calls it something else. Read labels. If applied only to your bonsai trees, and not spread around the garden, it is relatively safe. Read labels.

I'm an "organic farmer", if it's practical, but none of the organic treatments will be 95% effective. If you paid enough money to hurt the budget, reach for the effective products right away.