boxelder insect pest in compost, maple and fruit tree sickness - Ask Extension
Dear UMD staff,
I saw the boxelder two months ago, and I though it was not a problem. Unfortunately, it is now a pest that made sick my maple trees ...
Knowledgebase
boxelder insect pest in compost, maple and fruit tree sickness #874845
Asked June 26, 2024, 4:36 PM EDT
Dear UMD staff,
I saw the boxelder two months ago, and I though it was not a problem. Unfortunately, it is now a pest that made sick my maple trees and all my fruit trees (apple, peach, and berries). they also invaded flower plants such as lavanda, hydrangeas, rosemary and others.
Now, the majority of the boxelders are in the compost (leaves from last fall and food scraps from kitchen), hydrangeas, and the maple trees. What can I do with the compost? do I need to burn it?
I bought an insecticide soap (safer brand, insect killing). I also have the 3-1 treatment (earth ally insectile, miticide, and fungicide) for the fruit trees as they also got a fungi problem. I have the following questions:
1. How can I treat the pest problem and the tree sickness. What should I apply the soap or the insecticide 3-1) or both?
2. How often and when can I apply them? as the temperatures are high.
3. How can I amend or prepare the soil around the trees to create a guild?
4. Can I apply fertilizer to the trees to hemp them? as I had to prune them, their leaves where with pest eggs and getting very sick.
5. how useful is to create a guild around the trees to help them? Can I do and plan now in summer?
6. Could you please recommend a place to get good top soil and compost for raise beds and guilds? as I am still new in the area, any particular place(s) near Frederick?
Thank you very much for your guidance and help.
Frederick County Maryland
Expert Response
Boxelder Bugs are not a serious threat to plant health, even if they appear in large numbers on certain plants. Their favorite host plant is Boxelder Maple, a tree most gardens do not include, though it can be common in wild areas near streams. If you have maple and fruit trees or other plants that are showing signs of damage, other factors are to blame, either different insects, fungal or bacterial diseases, slugs/snails, mites, drought stress, over-watering, or a number of other conditions. If you can share photos with us of the concerning symptoms, we can try to diagnose them.
Dead Boxelder Bugs in compost will not render it useless. Burning is not required (nor would we ever recommend burning compost) and you can use it normally.
We have multiple web pages about growing fruits, and the individual fruit pages include a list of the typical pest and disease problems and how to manage them. If you don't see a match for any pest or disease damage you're seeing, send us photos of the symptoms and we can address them one species at a time. While preventative pesticide applications will help to protect most fruit trees from serious damage, they can't always be applied after the symptoms of damage appear, and selecting the right treatment spray will depend on which particular pest or disease is causing the problem. Not all 3-in-1 sprays are labeled for use on fruit trees, so make sure any pesticide used on fruits is listed for that specific use to make sure the fruit will be safe to eat later. You'll need to apply a pesticide based on how its label directions state it should be used, because those are legal restrictions and not every pesticide is applied at the same dosage or frequency. We can't provide more specific advice without knowing which tree type is being treated, which pest or disease is being targeted, and which specific pesticide is being considered for use. As a general rule, no pesticide should be applied while temperatures are above 85 degrees.
We're not sure what you are asking about when you refer to a "guild." The soil can be prepared the same as you would for any other tree or shrub, by amending it with compost (if it's badly compacted or mostly clay or sand in texture) and digging the planting hole at least twice as wide as the root ball size of the plant you're installing. The planting hole should only be dug as deep as the pot is, no deeper. Save the soil you remove from the hole, add amendments like compost to it (which aren't required for all situations), loosen the roots on the fruit tree, and then backfill the hole once the tree is in with the soil you removed.
Fertilizer only helps trees that are otherwise healthy; any sick from pests or disease should not be fertilized. Healthy fruit trees benefit from yearly fertilizer, and guidance about what to use and how much is given on the fruit pages we linked to above.
We have a web page about Soil to Fill Raised Beds if it's useful, but we don't have a list of places that stock soil or compost. There are no quality standards for topsoil and it is not a regulated product in Maryland. That linked page provides tips for determining what source of topsoil is better quality.
Miri
Dead Boxelder Bugs in compost will not render it useless. Burning is not required (nor would we ever recommend burning compost) and you can use it normally.
We have multiple web pages about growing fruits, and the individual fruit pages include a list of the typical pest and disease problems and how to manage them. If you don't see a match for any pest or disease damage you're seeing, send us photos of the symptoms and we can address them one species at a time. While preventative pesticide applications will help to protect most fruit trees from serious damage, they can't always be applied after the symptoms of damage appear, and selecting the right treatment spray will depend on which particular pest or disease is causing the problem. Not all 3-in-1 sprays are labeled for use on fruit trees, so make sure any pesticide used on fruits is listed for that specific use to make sure the fruit will be safe to eat later. You'll need to apply a pesticide based on how its label directions state it should be used, because those are legal restrictions and not every pesticide is applied at the same dosage or frequency. We can't provide more specific advice without knowing which tree type is being treated, which pest or disease is being targeted, and which specific pesticide is being considered for use. As a general rule, no pesticide should be applied while temperatures are above 85 degrees.
We're not sure what you are asking about when you refer to a "guild." The soil can be prepared the same as you would for any other tree or shrub, by amending it with compost (if it's badly compacted or mostly clay or sand in texture) and digging the planting hole at least twice as wide as the root ball size of the plant you're installing. The planting hole should only be dug as deep as the pot is, no deeper. Save the soil you remove from the hole, add amendments like compost to it (which aren't required for all situations), loosen the roots on the fruit tree, and then backfill the hole once the tree is in with the soil you removed.
Fertilizer only helps trees that are otherwise healthy; any sick from pests or disease should not be fertilized. Healthy fruit trees benefit from yearly fertilizer, and guidance about what to use and how much is given on the fruit pages we linked to above.
We have a web page about Soil to Fill Raised Beds if it's useful, but we don't have a list of places that stock soil or compost. There are no quality standards for topsoil and it is not a regulated product in Maryland. That linked page provides tips for determining what source of topsoil is better quality.
Miri
