How does the “stump treatment” option work?
Apply tree wound dressing to the last 3 growth rings. • Treatment of stumps is recommended as an option only for stands that have a basal area of oak <15 square feet/acre, if you are cutting in the spring and are in a county with oak wilt. To treat stumps apply a tree wound dressing product (available at most hardware stores) to the last 3 growth rings. Only one treatment is necessary but this must be done each day to the stumps that were created that same day. Are there other ways I can minimize the overland spread of oak wilt? • Yes. Trees that wilt during the summer and early fall will produce small mats of the fungus under the bark the following spring and early summer. If you are moving oak firewood or logs that were killed by oak wilt, utilizing the material [see Dealing with Diseased Wood] before April 1 will minimize the risk of the fungus spreading overland via sap-feeding beetles. Wood is no longer infectious once the bark has fallen off. ¹Dr. Jennifer Juzwik, USDA Forest Ser
