What's eating my foxtail pine?

Foxtail Pine faces its biggest threat from mountain pine beetle, which bores under bark and can kill trees. Western pine aphids, pine needle scale, and tip moths also attack. Deer and porcupines occasionally gnaw bark. Inspect for pitch tubes, yellowing needles, and sticky honeydew; treat infestations early with targeted controls.

Pitch tubes (popcorn-sized resin blobs) on bark; yellowing then red-brown needles; galleries under bark kill the tree No chemical cure once established; remove and destroy infested trees; preventive insecticide bark sprays (permethrin) on high-value specimens in June before adult flight

Sticky honeydew and sooty mould on needles; needle yellowing and distortion on young shoots Blast with water; apply insecticidal soap or neem oil to colonies; encourage natural predators (ladybirds, lacewings)

White or grey encrusted scales along needles; needles yellow and drop prematurely Horticultural oil spray in late spring when crawlers are active; repeat in early summer

Strips of bark removed from trunk base; girdling can kill young trees Wrap trunk bases with hardware cloth or tree guards; wire mesh exclosures for young specimens