Tree insect treatment in Atlanta, timed to the pest you have

Why the insect has to be named before anything is applied

Every pest feeds in a different place on the tree. Pine bark beetles tunnel just under the bark. Emerald ash borer larvae chew through the layer that carries water and sugar. Crape myrtle bark scale sits on the outside of the bark and sucks sap. Bagworms eat needles from inside a silk bag. A spray that kills bagworms does nothing for a borer already under the bark, so naming the pest comes first.

We look for the signs each insect leaves behind: pitch tubes and boring dust, D-shaped exit holes, white felt-like crusts on crape myrtle bark with black sooty mold below, strands of compressed sawdust poking from a young trunk, or bags hanging like small pine cones. We also judge how far the damage has gone. A tree that's lightly attacked can often be protected. One that has already lost much of its crown usually can't, and we'll tell you that plainly.

Protecting a healthy ash tree before the borer gets there

Emerald ash borer was first found in Georgia in July 2013, in DeKalb and Fulton counties. By 2023 it had been confirmed in all ten core metro counties and in Forsyth, so an untreated ash anywhere in the metro is at real risk. Once a tree has lost much of its canopy, the borer has usually done too much damage to the inside of the trunk for treatment to save it.

A healthy ash with a full crown is a different story. Preventive trunk injections, repeated on a regular schedule, protect the tree as long as the program continues. For a big ash that shades a patio or a west-facing wall, that's usually far cheaper over time than a removal and a replacement tree. If an ash is already declining, we'd rather help you plan a controlled removal while the wood is still sound enough to climb.

The tree insects we treat most around Atlanta

Each of these leaves its own signs, and each calls for a different approach.

Treatment timing for the common Atlanta pests

Timing does as much work as the product itself, so this is the rough calendar we follow.

• Emerald ash borer: injections in spring, once the tree has leafed out and sap is flowing well.
• Crape myrtle bark scale: soil applications in spring, with bark washing to clear crawlers and sooty mold.
• Ambrosia beetles: protection on young or newly planted trees in late winter, before the early spring flights.
• Bagworms: sprays in late spring and early summer while the larvae are small, or hand-picking bags in winter.
• Pine bark beetles: protective bark sprays on valuable pines during drought or after construction stress.
• Beetle-killed pines: removed promptly, and fresh pine debris chipped or hauled rather than left in piles.
• Every tree treated: watered deeply through summer drought, since stressed trees attract more insects.

How an insect treatment visit runs

Most visits follow the same order, whether it's one ash tree or a row of crape myrtles.

1. 1

   Identify the pest

   We look for exit holes, pitch tubes, frass, scale crusts and feeding damage, and confirm the tree species, because many pests attack only one kind of tree.

2. 2

   Judge the damage

   We estimate how much of the crown is still healthy. That decides whether treatment is worth it or the tree is already lost.

3. 3

   Pick the method

   Injection, soil application or spray is chosen for the pest, the tree's size, nearby water and how close it stands to gardens and play areas.

4. 4

   Time it right

   We schedule the work for when the insect is vulnerable and the tree is moving sap, often spring for borers and scale.

5. 5

   Apply and record

   Treatment goes on according to the product label, and we note the date and product so the next round is on time.

6. 6

   Remove what's lost

   Trees already killed by beetles are flagged for removal, since dead pines and ash turn brittle fast and can fuel the next attack.

Pine beetles, drought and the north metro pine stands

Tall loblolly pines left standing when subdivisions were built across Johns Creek, Lawrenceville and much of Gwinnett and Cobb are the trees we watch most closely after a dry summer. Drought, lightning strikes and roots cut by construction stress pines, and stressed pines draw Ips engraver beetles first. Where southern pine beetle moves in, it can kill a group of neighboring pines in a single season. A pine that browns from the top down in late summer is often already lost.

Crape myrtle bark scale has spread through intown plantings and shopping center islands, and the black trunks it leaves are easy to spot from the street in neighborhoods like Grant Park. Bagworms show up every summer on the Leyland screens planted along back fences in newer neighborhoods. Pairing treatment with proper crape myrtle pruning and good watering keeps the problem from coming right back.

Trunk injection, soil application or bark spray

The method follows the pest and the site, and here is how the three compare.

What moves the price of tree insect treatment

Trunk diameter sets most of the price for injections, because product is dosed by the size of the tree. A small crape myrtle with scale is a short visit with a soil treatment. A 24 inch ash takes more product and more injection sites. Spray work depends on height and how much of the crown needs coverage, and a hedge row of Leylands with bagworms is priced by length.

Preventive programs repeat on a schedule, so we tell you up front how often the treatment needs to happen and what each round costs. Removals of trees already killed by beetles or borers are quoted separately, as is any pruning of dead limbs. You'll find typical ranges for treatment and related work on our price guide.

Where we do tree insect treatment around Atlanta