Pine Wilt Tree Removal in Wichita, KS

Pine wilt tree removal is one of the few tree jobs around Wichita with a calendar attached. Pine wilt is caused by the pinewood nematode, a microscopic worm carried from tree to tree by the pine sawyer beetle. K-State Research and Extension says Scots pine is the species most seriously affected in Kansas, that Austrian pine is also affected and white pine occasionally, and that infected trees usually die within about three months. Its advice for landscapes and windbreaks is blunt: removing and destroying infected trees is the only control, and the wood should be burned, buried or chipped before April 1.

How to recognize it

Pine wilt symptoms in Kansas usually show up from August through December. The needles turn grayish green, then yellow and brown, and they stay attached to the branches instead of dropping. A cut branch on an infected tree gives off little or no resin, and the branches turn dry and brittle. The whole tree, or a large part of it, browns out over a few weeks to a few months. That speed is the clue; tip blights and needle blights tend to work more slowly and in patches.

Why the April 1 deadline matters

The nematodes and the beetle larvae spend the winter inside the dead wood. In spring, adult sawyer beetles emerge carrying nematodes and fly to healthy pines to feed, starting the cycle again. That is why K-State says to remove infected trees and dispose of the wood before April 1, and why stacking pine logs as firewood or leaving them in a brush pile defeats the purpose. Getting a dead pine down in winter protects the other pines in your yard and on your street.

No stumps left

K-State also says infected trees should be cut to ground level with no stumps left. A tall stump left standing is still pine wood that beetles can use. We cut pine wilt trees as low as the saw allows and can grind the stump below grade on the same visit. The brush and trunk are chipped on site or loaded and hauled away, never left on the property as logs.

What to plant instead

The Kansas Forest Service's list of preferred trees for south central Kansas gives Austrian pine only limited use because of tip and needle blights and pine wilt. K-State suggests that in areas with a history of pine wilt, homeowners consider less susceptible pines or deciduous trees. Eastern redcedar, Black Hills spruce and several oaks are on the regional preferred list. Keeping remaining pines watered in dry summers also helps, since K-State notes the sawyer beetles are drawn to stressed trees.