Burns Environmental » Trees

IKE Aftermath: Tree Damage and Mosquitoes What to Do

james — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 17:47:01 +0000

As I write this, IKE is bearing down on East Texas, and appears to be headed right over us following a path almost directly relative to the Sabine river. If you live in this area, the chances are high that you will have some tree damage in the aftermath.

Broken limbs are not necessarily the end of your tree, neither are splits. There are some things that can be done, such as cabling and bolting. The trick to this is to get the damage and debris cleared, and make the repairs as soon as possible after the damage happens.

I mention this, because after such an event, most folks are so anxious to get back to normal, that they may miss the opportunity to do such repairs in the rush to get everything cleared away. If there is any doubt about the viability of an important tree on your property after the storm, it would be a good idea to get the opinion of a specialist before hacking it into brush and firewood.

After such an extreme weather event chain saw hackers abound who are trying to make a few bucks providing a needed service. Just make sure that they don’t hack up something you might regret losing in the long run!

Another part of the aftermath of such a storm is mosquito infestation. A good source for information on such issues is Bugs and Weeds, a site dedicated to pest prevention. There is a lot of practical information on this site, and a new post on the Bugs and Weeds blog on this issue in particular.

East Texas Tree Care Services

james — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:33:47 +0000

Burns Environmental East Texas Tree Care Services

Trees are one of our greatest assets in East Texas. They provide shelter for birds and other wildlife, and shade for us and our homes from the scorching Texas heat. Healthy trees also provide added dollar value to your real estate.

Tree Damage

Construction, and other activities, can cause compaction, slowing the availability of air, water and nutrients to the roots. Construction damage to the trees roots, trunk, and limbs can invite water, fungus, insects, and disease into the tree causing them to rot and die prematurely.

This process can take several years before the symptoms show up. In the mean time, valuable time for rehabilitation is lost. The sooner the problem is known and understood, the better the chances of survival for your trees!

Services

We offer tree care services in the East Texas service area to help repair the damage caused by construction and other activities.

Proper pruning to shut down the ports of entry for water, disease and insects

Repair for damaged trunks and limbs.

Nutrient injections into the root zone which provide air, water, and nutrients to get to the place where they are available for uptake by your trees roots.

Systemic insecticide treatment.

Insecticide treatments for the insects already present.

Invasive Exotic Plant “Sleeper Cells”

james — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:40:44 +0000

Invasive Exotic Plant “Sleeper Cells”.

What was once, a group of “non invasive” exotic landscape plants, have now become destroyers. It happened while we were sleeping. They seemed innocent enough, but something, or some things, have changed, and now we have some serious thinking to do, about an increasingly serious problem.

A growing invasive species problem.

My years of continuous experience in the forests of East Texas and other areas, in a variety of capacities, have shown me that the problem is increasing geometrically. Plant populations of such seemingly innocuous species as Honeysuckle, (a Japanese import) Japanese Silk Tree, (mistakenly called mimosa by many) China Berry, Wisteria, and Oriental Privet are now eating forests at an incredible rate of speed!

Landscape plants join the invasion.

I mention these in particular, because they were once used as landscape plants, and even after release into the native flora, remained relatively low profile for the majority of my life, until now! Their seeming dormancy for years underscores one of the problems with non native flora. They may be innocuous, until conditions change slightly. Weather patterns, symbiotic relationships between newly introduced flora, and other factors may turn them from small sleeper cells, to major armies!

Bigger problems, mega invaders.

Those are the little problems, which amount to large problems when taken together. The serious problems are such plants as Kudzu, from China, Giant Salvinia , and Water Hyacinth from South America, Hydrilla, and Eurasian Milfoil from Europe, Asia, and Africa.

These plants have had relatively short times in the Southern U.S., but have caused colossal difficulty, costing billions in damage and control efforts during their short stay. Kudzu, like almost all such invaders, was relatively tame in the Northern portions of the country, where it was imported as a forage plant. When it was introduced into the South for forage, and erosion control, things changed. The warmer temperatures, fertile soils, high humidity, and longer growing seasons sent it into a growing frenzy, eating millions of acres as it grew. The same is true of the other plants mentioned above.

There are more in the wings!