Question
I live in Sedona AZ. One day I noticed small twigs w/needles dropping off the Shaggy Bark Juniper. Then it seemed as if 7/8 of the needles dropped in about 1 week.
Then upon closer examination I pulled a small piece of bark off and saw hundreds of small holes in the trunk as if drilled 1/8" holes. I know in the last few years there has been an out break of bark beetles in Northern AZ. Is there any treatment or should I cut this tree down so that they don't spread to my other trees. Thank You in advance for any info. Herb

Answer
If the tree still has a few green leaves I would spray the trunk as far up as you can reach (at least 1/2 way) with an insecticide for bark beetles. One of the newer ones is called Onyx. Check with your local nursery/garden type store for either Onyx or another bark beetle insecticide they might recommend. If there is no green needles then the tree is dead and should be cut and removed from the property to keep down the spread of emerging beetles.