The most important thing when protecting your trees from oak wilt is understanding the disease and how your trees become infected. Many times people create the problem themselves by simply pruning trees. Mother Nature is guilty of a lot the outbreaks we see. And even utility, construction, or fence companies are responsible. None of these entities maliciously try and spread the disease, but it’s their lack of knowledge or understanding of the disease that causes the problem.

Untreated wounds on a tree, whether they occur because you cut down a limb that blocks your view or a fierce thunderstorm breaks a limb with it’s wind gusts, can open an opportunity for the tree to become infected. There are several easy steps you can use as a guide to help protect your trees.

Proper Pruning: Whenever you create a wound on your oak you are opening a door inside your tree for oak wilt. When your list of “honey-do’s” comes around and you start trimming your trees it is imperative that you immediately seal the wound with a pruning paint. Pruning paint enables the tree to heal itself without the risk of unwanted beetles carrying the disease to enter. However, we do not recommend pruning any oaks between February 1st and June 30th.

Survey Your Trees: It is always a good idea to periodically check your trees for new wounds or broken limbs. It is very important to look at your trees after a big wind storm or thunderstorm. If you encounter a wound cover it immediately with some pruning paint.

Protecting Your Investment: Anytime you have a contracted laborer or company perform work on your property make it very clear with the other party that you require all wounds and damaged trees to be properly sealed. Strictly monitor their dedication to immediate sealing. If they just seal when the job is done it’s too late.

Clean Your Blades: If you are unfortunate enough to have an infected tree it is very important to clean your chainsaw, machete, or other tool used when trimming these trees. The disease can be transferred from one tree to the next just by using the same tool on an infected tree and then on another. The cleaning process is very simple. All you need to do is submerge the blade into a solution of bleach and water, wipe it off and then rinse.

Proper Firewood Storage: Infected trees that are cut down should not be used as firewood unless stored safely for a year or more. However if possible the burning of the infected trees is recommended. Placing a plastic cover over your stored wood also protects other trees from infections.