Question
we bought a house with 3 birch trees 20-30 ft high
they were peeling extensively and have looked about the same for a year and a half
they seemed to be fine re leaves etc
this year I have looked more closely and have found some scatters white sac each with one beetle in it the beetle is about 3-4 mm in size and has stripes there are only a few
i know i need to water really well but should I remove the extensive hanging bark its really ugly
should i fertilize or treat these trees

thanks

franklin

Answer
Birch trees do have bark that peels off as the tree gets older. Sounds normal to me. You can remove the peeling bark but be careful not to remove any not loose or you could damage the tree.

Birch trees need more water than normal trees and I would water once a week if it does not rain with 1 inch of water--place a pan under the tree and turn the sprinkler on and when the pan has 1 inch of water in it stop.