Question
Hi, we had a Tree of Heaven that seemed to start losing it's bark last year and developed holes in the trunk about 8ft up. We ended up cutting down the tree and upon cutting it, found it completely rotted in the middle with little white larvae and long brown worms aprox. 6-8 inches in length.

I was looking at a sappy spot in our Norweigian Maple tree today and climbed up the tree and saw a spot that was rotted aprox. 6 inches long and 2 inches wide that smelled terrible. I also found little white worms 1/4 inch long in the rot.

What is happening to my Maple tree? It's too late for the Tree of Heaven, but we would like to save the Maple tree. The Maple tree still looks healthy except for the small rotted spot on the trunk.

Can we save the tree? Please help. Thank you.

Answer
Decay fungi enter trees through wounds and over time will decay the center. Normally the tree will survive even if it gets hollow, which takes many years.  Insects, borers also find these wounds and enter the woody part of the tree. These can cause problems with the health of the tree. I would spray the area and the trunk with an insecticide for borers, Check with your local nursery/garden type store and ask for an insecticide for borers. On of the new ones is called Onxy but I do not know if you can get it where you live. The nursery can best advice you on the best one for you to use.
When you control the borer the tree should be ok.