Panic Stations- RHAB

Have 350 trees planted....270 planted this spring the remainder last year (2015). We bought 70 or 80 of these trees from a "mom and pop" operation in our area. Seems they came with RHAB. Last year I noted about 12 trees with the pest and injected them with pyrethrum and thought I had success....NOPE

Seems most of the affected trees are the ones from our local guy..could this be the case?

Now looks like more trees are showing signs....I am going to try the 3/8" spade bit approach suggested by Michael. I know we have to get a handle on this quickly....any suggestions??


Also can Lorsban be sprayed now and have much effect? Would it be worthwhile to do it now?


thanks
Joanne

Please... Be more explicit - what is RHAB? Also, what is a "mom and pop" operation?

Jolicoeur Orchard
Zone 4 in Quebec
Author, The New Cider Maker's Handbook

Sorry...RHAB. Round Headed Apple Borer.

Mom and Pop operation - a local orchardist and his wife who sell various fruit trees. We bought maybe 70 trees from them last year and this and those trees seem to be the ones affected with the RHAB...

Joanne
G2V Farm
Gaspereau, NS
Zone 6

As of the borers, they are everywhere (in eastern Canada) as far as I know... So I wouldn't blame your mom or pop too much... David, who isn't very far from you could tell you a lot about them.
They require a lot of inspection - I make a thorough borer inspection to all my young trees at least 3-4 times a year.
I like to use a #14 copper wire - this is the type of wire used for house electicity - with the plastic coating removed. The size is right and it is quite flexible. When you see some frass at the base of a tree, clean around with a sharp knive, remove any dead bark, then find the entrance of a tunnel and go in with the wire until you hear a characteristic squish, which means you got the beast... then you can leave everything there, the tree will heal very rapidly.
Sometimes, you can't be sure you got it, but I find that by opening the entrance, this leaves the borer very vulnerable by other predators, and this is often sufficient to cure the problem.
However, sometimes it continues. Hence on a tree that you have tried to kill the borer you need to go back about a week later to make sure there is no more borer activity (i.e. new frass).
You'll get the twist fast, I am sure!
Claude

Jolicoeur Orchard
Zone 4 in Quebec
Author, The New Cider Maker's Handbook

Thanks Claude....we just spent some hours excavating where we saw the frass, cutting out some bark (in some cases lots of bark ) and skewering various grubs. Most satisfying. Some trees had 4 and maybe more.

I would say the main infestation is in the trees we bought last year ..to the point where we wonder about puling them out. Will decide next spring when we see which ones survive our surgeries with no more RHAB.

Also wonder about using an insecticide in the hopes of getting ahead of the pest..the slippery slope I suppose.

G2V Farm
Zone 5B/6
Gaspereau Valley, Nova Scotia
Canada

Slathering pure neem oil (in solidified form) with a butter knife into "surgery zones" for borer goes a long way towards sealing the deal. The fats in neem also help repair bark tissues along the edges of such wounds.

One of the beautiful things about accessing forum knowledge is that in-house search engine. This works even better if you return to our parent website, GrowOrganicApples.com, and use the search feature at the bottom of those pages. Here you can access posted articles and newsletters as part of the search, with past forum discussions included as well. Don't stop after one page of search results in the case of borer as this unholy beast has reared its ugly head many times in many orchards.

Claude makes the best point of all: Maintain constant vigilance if you grow on a borer-afflicted site!

Lost Nation Orchard
Zone 4b in New Hampshire

Thanks Michael....I have accessed some of the posts re borer.....depressing

We just finished another foray into the orchard armed with excision tools etc. (Have ordered neem - won't be here for another week). We excavated 46 trees....found many grubs and vanquished them. We feel a little more optimistic about being able to detect their whereabouts...with or without frass.

We have another 4 rows to check tomorrow.....and the beat goes on!

G2V Farm
Zone 5B/6
Gaspereau Valley, Nova Scotia
Canada

Does any one have an opinion on parasitic nematodes for borer control? Peppering? I am putting together my notes and thoughts on a BioD/holistic approach and will share as soon as it makes sense. But I would love your feedback on PN and peppering.

Mike Biltonen, Know Your Roots
Zone 5b in New York