After a dry late summer, a lot of pines around metro Atlanta are heading into fall under stress. Stressed loblolly and shortleaf pines are exactly what native bark beetles look for, and fall is when the signs of late-season attacks become easiest to spot.
Look at the trunk for pitch tubes, small popcorn-sized blobs of resin where the tree has tried to push beetles out. Fine reddish boring dust in bark crevices or around the base, and a crown that fades from green to yellow to red, are the next signs. Once a whole crown turns red, the beetles have often already moved on to nearby pines.
Not every resin spot means a lost tree, and healthy pines can often fight off small attacks on their own. Our ISA Certified Arborists look at how many attack sites there are, how the crown is holding up, and how close the tree is to other pines, homes, and power lines. Sometimes a single infested pine needs to come down quickly to protect the rest of the stand, and sometimes it just needs watching.
Do you have pines on your property, and have you noticed any of them fading or dropping more needles than usual this fall? #AtlantaTrees #PineBeetles
A real close-up from a Boutte Tree job of pitch tubes (small, popcorn-like resin blobs) on a pine trunk, paired with a wider shot of a pine crown fading from green to yellow. A crew member inspecting the trunk adds scale. Authentic job photos strongly outperform stock images.
Canva text suggestion: "Resin Blobs on Your Pine? Look Closer" or "Pitch Tubes Are a Pine Fighting Back"