trouble with borers

I have a new black cherry, Prunus serotina (cherry for sure, it may yet prove not to be a black cherry), Philadelphia PA zone 7ish. I can see a discolored "track" along the young bark at one point- looks a hell of a lot like a borers tunnel- are they common in cherries? How might one get rid of them- there seems to just be the one track at the moment. Is it a stupid idea to inject insecticide into the tunnel area with a syringe? Perhaps better to open up the area and spray. Any thoughts- thanks

I don't have a solution, but yes, as far as I know all Prunus are susceptible to borers. Either of your suggestions could work. Cutting into the tree will depend on how large and healthy it is, though borers tend to hit ill or weakened trees.

When I got back from a 1995 collecting trip to Wyoming, one of the ponderosa had an active borer. My option was to burn the tree or fight the borer. I realize now my choice to fight was not wise but....a large ancient tree was at stake. I injected Lindane into the two holes I found and was successful.

Nina....please don't yell at me.....it was DUMB I think this insecticide is no longer around ?

But "what goes around ..comes around"; one of our local newspapers had a notice today about this threat to our ash trees and my yard is dominated by a huge ash.... The emerald ash-borer is on our border with Wisconsin....and it only infests ash trees . The borer came into the country from China and began it's destruction of ash in Detroit.

http://www.startribune.com/local/east/42642722.html?elr=KArksUUUU


Older and wiser.....

Norma

This tree came from less than a mile away so no import problems here. It was growing on a cliff face but shows no signs of being excessively weak. I see no holes on the outside of the tree, these of course could be too small for my detection, and I am reluctant to burn good innocent material- would drilling a few small holes into the track made by the borer as varying depths to shoot insecticide in be the solution here. What is the difference between an active borer track and an inactive one, can you tell if the tree currently has borers or had one at a time- or is it once chosen never leave.

First of all, I'm not a narc any more, so none of you have to worry about me turning you in to the pesticide police (when I worked at Cornell, I was considered *liable* for any violations I witnessed, so you can imagine the effect on my eyesight).

Unfortunately, I don't know the pesticide regulations for Pennsylvania, so I can't make any recommendations for Austin. Using a darning needle to stab the grub is always satisfying, and completely legal.

Here's a fact sheet from the University of Kentucky that's excellent:
http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ent43.asp
The timing of egg-laying will only be applicable near Kentucky, of course: You guys will need to hunt up the appropriate times for your areas.

I'm by far an expert,
I'm in the second part of my college Pest MGMT classes for my Hort Degree. My teacher told us just what
Ms. Nina has just stated, "Using a darning needle to stab the grub is always satisfying, and completely legal. " I've never actually did this but I will be giving it a try prior to any drilling and filling of Borers damage.
I've suggested this to my older brother who lives in MO. Borers took out his Peach trees. unfortunately he was too
late and/or moved too slowly on the matter.
Give it a stab! Sincerely
KJ