John, CLM will not cut out circular parts of a leaf. CLM is actually a tiny moth, and it does lay its eggs in this fashion. The larvae hatch, make tunnels in the leaves and then eventually exit. The tunneling damages the leaves so the curl up and look very ugly, but does not do more than cosmetic damage to mature trees. Very young trees, however, can have stunted growth due to all their leaves being tender enough to all be affected, especially in areas of heavy pest pressure (as is where I live). CLM shows up for us here in S. California in late June/early July and continues through until the Fall. Some areas of the country have two episodes, one in May and again in later summer. The best controls are either with Imidacloprid systemic (which unfortunately in some areas of the country, they are finding CLM becoming resistant to Imidacloprid), or by using Spinosad. I am having a very bad time with CLM myself, now. Even though I treated with Imidacloprid, I'm still having trees affected. CLM seems to be attracted to certain types of citrus more than others. I am spraying with Spinosad as well, now, and I can't use a hort oil (to make it last longer), as our temps are hovering in the low 80's, so I fear I might burn my leaves. So, I will have to do more sprayings that I would like. CLM is mainly cosmetic, except with very young trees as mentioned. the UC Riverside Citrus Variety Collection doesn't even treat for CLM (as nearly all their trees are mature). Patty S.

I'm now watching a number of "how to kill voles" type YouTubes and they are actually very instructive. For one, they actually show what a vole hole looks like very clearly. Still photographs are never quite as clear, but with these videos, I am certain that these are voles. The types of holes have really started appearing over the past year. I probably had two holes a couple years ago, but now I have probably 20 that I can find easily. I thought they were chipmonk holes and don't mind them. My plan is to create a shady tree yard rather than a lawn anyway... so not too concerned about irregularities in the lawn. (mistake?) So I have identified the holes in the yard, but these holes are not the worry. I am not completely certain that it is the voles that are doing damage to the young tree roots... only that they are responsible for the harmless holes in the yard. Nevertheless, I will assume they are the guilty party. The youtube also shows mole hills, and I see no evidence of moles in the area. So voles *are* well known to get under young trees like this? (just trying to be clear) I mean, chipmonks like to dig, too.... so I guess I can't rule them out for churning through those roots. For now, I'll assume the voles are the problem. Those yard holes have become common only over the past year or so... and the tree damage has become common during this same time. It looks like the common method is to use peanut butter and a mouse trap type of method. Hmmm, not very exotic, but I like it compared to poison.

No, it's not the ants. It looks like normal rot from part of the tree dying. The ants are probably carpenter ants, cleaning up the dead wood. Have you had extended drought there in the last 5 years or so? IME, Populus tremuloides or quaking aspen don't like it dry for very long and will start to die during a long drought period. Once the rains return they will grow vigorously again but the damage is done, on the inside. Not much you can do. Remove the tree and start another one, maybe one more suited to the site.

Hello, I have a 5 yr old quince tree and have notice that it has pencil reaser sized-holes in its trunk and the bark has peeled off. I don't know if its parasites or the tree is sick, looks healthy other than that (branches unaffected yet and green leaves with fruit) but seems to be progressing from the trunk up. Any suggestions? I'm in Arizona climate. HELP!