Poaky, how bad is the damage? I have more tolerance for trees in the plum middle of a large yard which will not be falling on my home or cars.

This is one of two silver maples which were in my yard. Both were loosing a war to rot near their base. Probably was started by yard equipment in this case but point is the damage was spreading and each year less and less wood was holding up the tree making it more and more likely to fail.

In the second picture you can see how little wood was left holding up that tree!

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Impossible to tell with info provided. For something that large you want an arborist with an ISA certificate to look at it.

Dan

Wow, that was quite a cut for an electric saw. ; )

I have had good results using Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub for borers in birch. The label lists several types of borers as being controlled. You can read more details on Bayer's website.

how big is the tree.. and is it endangering anything ...

killing the bug.. does not heal the insides ...

call a local pro

ken

There is still a good bit of wood holding it up probably 3 x the wood of the silver maple in Toronados pics. I would say the tree is 2 ft diameter trunk. It has the look at the bottom like Toronados tree. You can scrape bark off at the base with your foot. The bark is weird texture like those paper egg cartons, at the bottom of the tree only, though.We will try to get a pro. None of the adds in the book say ISA cert.I will ask them each if they are. All but those who advertise that they top trees.It just might be still stronge enough.

'bark is weird texture like those paper egg cartons'

poaky, this tree isn't going to fall on anything is it?

I started kicking around the bottom of mine to see how extensive the damage was figuring whatever I could remove was doing no good for the tree. Then I sprayed the rest with whatever insecticide I had handy. All this to no avail. Once I peeled away the rotted bark I could see the acer's attempt at encapsulation was loosing to the spread of the rot.

I had an arborist come out and the bark is damaged further up than I remembered from last fall. The tree is not going to get any better. I am having it removed in March, well it is almost March now. Toronado it would catch the roof if it fell in one direction as apposed to 3 other directions. I am waiting til payday because I have to pay half. They are going to cut up in big peices and we get rid of the wood ourselves. They want over $1,000 to cut and remove. We can surely get rid of the wood. People may use it to supplement with good firewood. If anyone knows will the wood burn okay for a fireplace or wood burner? I know some wood sparks and can be dangerous in an open fireplace.His price for cutting it down was average, and they're insured. The company has been in business for 30 years, he said they haven't kept up their ISA certification, but were certified for years. They are charging $ 450.00 to cut it down. I have other estimates around the same price or higher. I can tell myself the tree is beyond help. You can srape off bark about 2 feet up with no effort.So it's a goner. I have my Compton's oak in the ground already to replace it. Thanks for the input everyone.

Here's a chart on firewood quality. I say, burn it if'n you got it. You may want to find out the insect and see if there is any sort of treatment you need to do to store so you aren't giving them an incubator. Price not bad, gotta do it for tornado season soon...

Dan

Looks like you have Ambrosia beetles, which are borers. They leave sawdust trials behind, but once they enter a tree its usually to late. I've seen plenty of these situations and normally they tend to attack a unhealthy tree. Drought conditions, disease, or lack of nutrients in the soils are all situations Ambrosia beetles look for. They actually do not kill the tree. They leave a fungi that ultimately kills a tree suddenly. I'm sorry you lost your tree.

Here is a link that might be useful: GardenWeb

I am assuming the wood is considered Yellow poplar, the chart says it throws sparks and is generally poor. So we'll have to burn or get rid of it some way.We're in the country so it can lay there until it all gets burned.Thanks for the info given. The tree was run into by my dad on the tractor, that probably is the reason for the decline.It is in the dog fence I wonder if soil compaction could have hurt it too.The grass is full in the dripline area though, so it can't be too much traffic.

When you have a wood like that, you don't count on it as your main source. You throw it in at the beginning or at re-stoke but your main fire is your better wood, whatever that is. If you have property, you can make a slash pile for wildlife and burn the larger stuff, or use the logs to make check dams, habitat...

Dan