What's eating my giant sequoia?

Giant Sequoia is famously pest- and disease-resistant, aided by its tannin-rich bark. The primary threats are sequoia pitch moths, which bore under bark and cause resin masses. Spider mites can stress young trees in dry summers. Deer browse low branches of young trees before the bark toughens with age.

Large pitch masses (resin blobs) on trunk and main branches indicating larval tunneling beneath bark Remove pitch masses before adults emerge in late spring; keep trees healthy and well-watered; no systemic insecticide is reliably effective once larvae are inside

Bronze or dusty-looking needles on young trees during hot, dry weather; fine webbing on foliage Irrigate adequately during drought; apply horticultural oil or insecticidal soap spray to foliage of young trees; established large specimens are rarely seriously harmed

Browsed lower branches and shoot tips on young planted specimens Tree tubes or wire cages protect saplings; once the rough, fibrous bark develops, deer damage becomes negligible