When oaks are pruned or wounded, they attract native “sap beetles”, which carry disease spores from infected trees to open wounds on healthy oaks, starting new disease infections. Once infected, red oaks die rapidly, often within six weeks! The safest time to prune oaks is during the winter months.  If wounds do occur, paint them immediately with a pruning sealer or latex paint. Don’t move oak firewood, which can carry the disease to new locations.

One oak wilt-killed tree leads to many killed trees because they are linked together by their roots. When an oak gets infected, the disease moves into its roots and to other oaks within the root system, infecting and killing the trees as it progresses. Pockets of dead oaks from oak wilt can span huge areas if left unchecked. Michigan needs oaks for wildlife habitat, soil stabilization, water filtration, and clean air. Oaks are also often highly valuable and beloved landscape trees that deserve to be protected. 

Here are the keys to preventing the spread of oak wilt:

 The Michigan Oak Wilt Coalition is a partnership of concerned private, nonprofit, and governmental organizations dedicated to building Oak Wilt Awareness. The reason why is that people can take action to prevent the spread of this disease.

“Oak wilt is different from other tree diseases where there is little people can do to stop them from spreading,” says Julie Stachecki, ISA Certified Arborist and Co-Chair of the Michigan Oak Wilt Coalition’s awareness campaign. “like when Dutch Elm disease and Emerald Ash Borer took their toll on Michigan’s trees. Homeowners could not stop these pests from spreading. Oak Wilt is just as deadly, but with awareness and a few precautions, people can stop this deadly disease of oak trees from spreading through Michigan and beyond.”