Hello Derek,

Your question has been routed to the Denton County Master Gardener Help Desk.

While we have a large number of Yellow Belly Sap Suckers feeding on our trees, the pictures don't show the normal horizontal "machine gun" set of holes they normally use.  With borers, sometimes their frass contains sawdust mixed with the sap. There was a possibility of something mixed in the close-up shot, but it is not as apparent/obvious as some I've seen.  On other trees with thicker sap (peach), the sawdust is very hard to see.  Often bird damage can lead to borers and borers can also attract woodpeckers. 

There are several borers that are common in the area.  Some are caterpillars from moths and others are beetles in their larvae stage.  These insects have extremely strong eating parts and can sometimes can literally be heard "grinding the wood".  If you can hear them, it means they are definitely present.  Problem is, they may not be feeding at the time you are listening.

The control of these pests has been very difficult for me, seeing the damage does not always mean the insects are currently present. They may have matured, exited, and are not currently present or they may have moved deeper into the interior wood where systemic insecticides are not effective.  There are some insecticides that will kill the borers if they are sprayed on them when they are outside of the tree.  In my opinion, that must have been determined by some folks in a lab setting vs actual practice.  My guess is that soapy water would also work in that case.  The insects that are eating in the sap layers just under the bark can be killed if sap is actively flowing (tree isn't dormant) and they are actually there with several systemic insecticides.  Imidacloprid is commonly used and is fairly widely available in liquid concentrate and a powder in water soluble packages.  It is then mixed with water and used a soil drench.  Tree spikes are also available and some use Acephate while others are available with  Imidacloprid. 

These will kill bees if used slightly before or during the bloom season of the tree.  There will be other warnings/instructions on the product label for safe and effective use, that must be followed.

The following are some additional references that provide additional details:

https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/library/landscaping/wood-boring-insects-of-trees-and-shrubs/

There is a borer that is specific to the persimmon tree, but they attack near the ground level, so that would not likely be our case.

https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdf%5CIN%5CIN66900.pdf

If you have any additional questions on this or other gardening topics, please contact us again.

Good luck with your tree,

Edsel