Brown powder at base of D. Fir

[ArtB]

First attachment is a closeup of small patches of brown powder at the base of a D.Fir next to the house. Saw ants there last year and applied some chlorodane and have not seen an ant since; however, some of these bark granules still appear occasionally, and there appears to be a small cavity in the bark right at ground line, which would indicate a critter?.
The 2nd attachment is the tree location (framed in the breezeway) and relationship to the house, which is why I do not want anything to happen to this tree, as it is the main reason air conditioner never needs to be turned on.

I have watched these trees next to the house for grow for the last 33 years - when the foundation was dug, started 30 feet out and dug to within 16 feet without hitting any root leaders, so do not beleive it is root damage. Possibly roots have now come to the basement wall, but no wall problems. Does the small amount of negative PH from the basement wall have any effect?

So, assuming ants and other similar phylum critters have been dispatched, what does the bark powder indicate and is there anything recommended (other than more chlorodane) ?

PS: Can one attach more than one pix per post?

 

[ArtB]

2nd atachment

Overview

 

[Guy Meilleur]

Originally posted by ArtB
what does the bark powder indicate and is there anything recommended (other than more chlorodane) ?

1. Put away the chlordane, noncarpenter ants are good for trees.

2. trace the granules to their source. Dig out loose and dead bark and wood around the hole it's coming from.

3. Blast hole with compressed air or water.

The granules do look like frass. Let us know if you find the source.

4. Encourage birdsand bats to come around; they're the best pest control there is.

 

[xander9727]

Question 1: Are there any crack houses nearby?

Question 2: Did you use chlorodane crystals?

 

[appalachianarbo]

It's hard to tell from the picture, but it may just be decay. Any arborists in your area you can call? A resistograph could tell for sure what's going on inside (a cruder method is the ol' drill bit test)

 

[Guy Meilleur]

Originally posted by appalachianarbo
(a cruder method is the ol' drill bit test)

Cruder, ruder and arboriculturally unacceptable.

Drills Kill, Will. Rubber mallets are the way to go, unless it's a real hard call. First time I saw a drill used was in '92 at the ASCA conference in your hood, at the Deer Park Inn at Biltmore, a slightly leaning oak. bruce F from Bartlett did his thing on it; I almost ripped it out of his hands and tossed it in the woods.

He said this is a removal anyway, I said why?, he started in on 1/3 cavity formulae and I thought man, you can't see the tree for the void. Still believe those formulae are rude and crude and leave out too much data.

Anyway, the pic on this Dfir shows frass, not rot, so the cavity is not problem #1.

 

[rbtree]

Guy, do you feel the same way about resistograph drill testing?

Art....Do as suggested by Guy and probe and investigate a bit. You may find just an insect laden bark pocket. Most common PNW pests do not invade healthy wood. Termites can, but they are rare. Therefore, the tree may have some decay, which could likely mean more problems below ground. Are there any other symptoms like crown decline, sap flow, butt swell, or shape anomolies on the trunk?

If needed, I can refer you to a couple of the best consulting arborists in town.

 

[appalachianarbo]

Guy - My winking icon was lost somewhere on that post. I don't condone the 'drill test'.

Most common PNW pests do not invade healthy wood.

This was my thinking too. You don't generally see frass like that without some rot, unless it's a bark beetle or something.

Mike Riley
ISA Certified Arborist
Asst. VP, Appalachian Arborists

 

[Guy Meilleur]

rb, since resistographs injure much less I think they're much less problem. It's all in the size of the infection court and the tree's ability to codit imo. resistograph users say the hole is so small the tree squishes it shut.
Mike, whoops I thought you were will b.

Most cavities I see can be assessed with a trowel or other blunt instrument without breaking boundaries.

 

[ArtB]

Thanks for the advice.

OK, took the "probe the hole advice". Does not look to be a problem. Literally hundreds of sow bugs in some pockets but those are in (well eaten by the way) slabs of dead bark that are outboard of any live bark - eg hammer gives a hollow vs solid sound. Whacked away some of the dead spots with a chisel(careful to not go into anything not dark brown and dry) and there were all the sow bugs, with a few spider preying on them.

Resisted the temptation to drive a few 16d sinkers to see if everything is solid <G>, although there is a 16d in the tree at 6ft high holding a squirrel feeder thts peen pulled out an inch or so every 2 years.

Verified there are none of the bark beetles that have been OR and ID problems.

OH yeah, edit - the only area the sow bugs were was areas with wet dead bark between the soil and the point where the root curves are tangent to the trunk, apparently the rain water does not drain from that area.

 

[appalachianarbo]

So it sounds like there is no wood decay, just loose bark where water has collected and caused some rot, and the sow bugs are just hanging out back there, creating some frass. I'd monitor those spots yearly for wood decay, but otherwise there's not much you can do. Any chance the drainage from that area can be changed without affecting the root system? If there's water collecting, you could have an anaerobic condition and root dieback...Also, how's the soil compaction between the tree and the house?