Mook Johnson wrote in message
...
Hi folks,

First time posting here so be patient if I ask FAQ or silly questions.

I built a house last year on a 1/3 acre lot with 5 full grown oaks in the
back, 2 young (10ft tall) oaks in the front and a unidentified tree (ash
maybe) in the side.

My neighbors have had there trees suddendly die on them after 8 or so
months
of living in the house. The guy that cleared them out said it was boring
insects that got them.

I trimmed a dead limb off the Ash (i think) with a rope chain and the limb
had some pencil sized bore holes in it. I dug out what looked to be deab
bug coons or something.

I called a profesional tree service and they quoted $350 to fertilize and
treat the trees with (A) PHC for trees and super seaweed, and (B)
Permethrin
TC for boring insects.

They also offered a tree trimming service quote for $790 for the trees
mentioned above.

Are these reasonable prices? Is there something I can do DIY to protect
my
trees?

The soil here is mostly gray clay and it has been very dry since June.

thanks


Just yesterday I was just reading about something called 'sudden oak death'
that is affecting trees west of the Mississippi. Apparently it's caused by
the same virus that killed off the American chestnut many years ago. As for
diagnosing and treating your trees' problems, I would recommend getting the
extension service or forestry people to do that. I'm not saying that the
tree trimming service is dishonest or is trying to gouge ... it's just that
they are in business to make money and the other folks are not. Before I
let somebody put down a bunch of poisons and cut off major limbs, I'd want
to know what kind of boring insects killed the trees and I would research
the bugs as well as the chemicals they wanted to use. Good luck! Suz