Christmas tree aphid infestation: What it looks like. What will happen
Behind me here is a fraser fur that’s Really covered with a Colony of aphids that just hatched out And are really Doing damage to this tree so uh this is Just a quick video on what aphids are And what they do Uh in the description below and if You’re on a computer You can hit that postcard above i’ll Show you how we spray the christmas tree Farm for aphids But aphids in general are basically like A little beetle just super tiny about Three millimeters To i think like 10 mil 10 millimeters They get on the trees and they will try To suck the sapper pitch out These happen to be on the bark all over The place um The other ones a lot of times i’ll Mention in the On the grand furs the as the new foliage Comes up they’ll get right where the new Foliage is coming out and eat on that And it’ll kill the branches off that are Trying to grow out So it’s really damaging to the christmas Trees some of the things that you’ll see If a tree get uh is left to be infested And Damaged by aphids is uh they eat and Then they leave a sugary substance known As honeydew
On it and uh that this attracts all Kinds of other insects Uh one of the interesting stories with My son when he’s younger he’s 24 now but When he was Younger shearing a tree probably about 12 or 13. He was sharing a tree that the aphids Had done damage and there’s a whole Bunch of bees in there Trying to eat the honeydew he was Shearing on the tree And the bees just came swarming out and They Stung him in the face a couple times and His brothers obviously uh Teased him about looking like he was From whoville uh because of his Distorted face but that was not a good Day but the Aphids after they do the damage they Will attract other insects that also Cause problems So if the aphids have damaged the trees And a lot of damage it on the trunk they Leave a lot of Uh the honeydew and then that grows a Mold on at a black mold And i think the best description of what That is like is when you go to harvest a Christmas tree And you cut the tree down you grab the Trunk of the tree it’s as if somebody Had
Beaten you there by about a half an hour With a can of black spray paint And sprayed the trunk of the tree and You reach in there and your hand Is kind of not super thick with it but black and the entire trunk could Be like that you certainly don’t want This on your christmas trees Ladybugs are a natural predator of Aphids And so i like ladybugs being around to Help eat aphids they actually eat the Aphids but The bad thing is if i start seeing a lot Of ladybugs around usually what that Means is there’s a lot of aphids around So it’s a good sign bad sign when you See ladybugs Ladybugs are our friend but they’re here Because a lot of our enemy is here There are a lot of bees working These grand firs they shouldn’t be in There as a ladybug Both the bees getting into free sap And ladybugs that eat aphids are Indicators That this early warmth and spring we Weren’t ready And the aphids got ahead of us Fortunately we’re spraying now But there’s already damage done to these Grand firs Thanks for joining me and my business Partner barry once again on the flanigan
Homestead and esport christmas free Farms Where christmas trees are my business Teaching including horticulture is my Job And outdoor projects are my passion join Us again soon we’re going to be Sharing christmas trees and uh showing You the signs that we built Have a good day awesome
