Houston Lawn & Garden

Here we are in September and stillg no rain worth mentioning.  As a matter of fact, our neighborhood is still under water rationing and the neighborhood next to us has finally issued theirs.  It’s not like there hasn’t been any rain in Houston.  To the south and west you guys have been getting your fair share, but in the northwest areas of Champions, Spring, Tomball, The Woodlands it’s been nothing but a few sprinkles here and there.  It’s like the CONE OF SILENCE from “GET SMART” is sitting over our area and the rain is falling all around us, but nothing here.

As a result, we’ve been seeing a number of DEAD PINE TREES.  You can tell that they are dead because the needles turn to a very distinct rust color.  It’s quite beautiful, but the beauty is overcome by the mere fact that the tree has died.  I am automatically attributing the problem to lask of rain, but there is another more serious possibility which is a attach from a Pine Bark Beetle.  These beetles can smell out pine trees that are in distress and zero in on then for a free lunch.  You can tell if it is the pine bark beetle by looking around the base of the tree to see if there is anything looking like sawdust.  If so, look at the bark about eye level and see if you see anything that looks like pin holes.  The beetle is the size of a grain of rice and might be mistaken for a termite if you didn’t know the difference.

Give your pines a look over and make sure they are not dying.  It will save you a lot of grief in dealing with the results.  Also, you don’t want to have a dead tree sitting anywhere near your house if another Hurricane Ike comes along!!!