How to Repair Maple Callus Borer Damage

Resembling tiny wasps with transparent wings and a reddish fringe instead of a stinger, maple callus borers swarm from late spring through summer. The sinister little moths deposit larvae that bore into silver, red and other varieties of maples, spitting out sawdust-like waste called frass. They emerge the following summer to lay another generation of eggs. Maple callus borers are detected by a spike in yield by pheromome traps and treated with permethrin and bifenthrin. They may leave frass-filled cankers and calluses in trunks and stunted limbs. Careful maintenance helps trees heal themselves.

Saw
Sandpaper
Shovel
Topsoil
Mulch
10-10-10 fertilizer
Pheromome traps
Permethrin, bifenthrin or other clearwing borer insecticide
Insecticide sprayer

Instructions

- 1
  Water the tree regularly, particularly during hot or dry weather to encourage healthy roots and strong top growth. Stressed trees are more susceptible to maple callus borer damage and damaged trees are stressed further.
- 2
  Trim and smooth damaged trunks and prune dead or diseased branches after borer flights have stopped in late fall. Prune only dead wood; damaged wood might recover in spring.
- 3
  Remove the sod from around the base of the tree out to the drip line and replace any lost soil with plain topsoil from your yard. Cover the new soil with 2 to 3 inches of clean mulch. This will remove compacted soil from the surface and allow air to get to the roots more easily. Mulching controls weeds and discourages foot traffic.
- 4
  Wait a year to fertilize your tree -- nitrogen fertilizer can create stress. When you resume fertilizing, use a balanced fertilizer in spring before the insects begin flying.
- 5
  Treat recovering trees with insecticide each spring when maple callus borers take flight to discourage the insects from using the tree again.

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