This person decides which trees are already infected or the path of infection and then decides where to cut the mass of roots that connect nearby oak trees to each other. This cut, which should be done by a professional using a five-foot vibratory plow, stops the spread of fungus spores from tree to tree via the roots. This step is crucial to containment, experts say, because even dead trees can spread the fungus spores for years via the roots. In fact, removing a dead tree within 40 feet of another red oak can spread oak wilt even faster to adjoining trees. We recommend proper removal of dead trees, which can mean leaving it for a few years unless zoning laws don't allow that.
Some people then treat the stump with chemicals to make it dry up faster and stop the spores.
Juzwik was in Traverse City last week to help evaluate the region's oak trees and document cases of oak wilt. The disease, which is thought to be native to the United States, also affects white oaks, though these trees take years to die. With pockets of oak wilt already found in Long Lake, Green Lake and East Bay Townships, Holiday Hills and the Forest Lake area over the past decade, she knows first-hand from Minnesota's experience that this is just the beginning. Juzwik discussed oak wilt prevention and treatment strategies with nearly 40 homeowners, including the Finks, at a meeting last Wednesday evening at the Northwestern Michigan College. She also spoke at a second meeting on Thursday afternoon for arborists, landscape managers, utility company employees and other tree-care professionals.