Are you taking great care of your cypress trees? That’s awesome! If your trees are happy and healthy, you usually won’t have to worry much about uninvited guests. However, if a pest does manage to stage a takeover, they usually leave plenty of clues behind. You just need to know what to look for to decide if you can save the tree or if it’s time to say goodbye.
Common Cypress Pests
When a cypress isn’t in the perfect spot or is feeling a bit stressed from lack of care, these three troublemakers are the most likely to show up:
- Bark Beetles
- Leaf Miners (specifically Cypress Tip Moths)
- Mealybugs
Bark Beetles
I’ll be honest with you right out of the gate: if the bark beetle moves in, the beetle usually wins. Once a cypress is infested, it’s likely a goner. If you have several cypresses planted as a privacy screen, your best bet is to act fast. Remove and dispose of the infested trees immediately to try and save their healthy neighbors.
In the spring, newly hatched bark beetles nibble on young shoot tips, which causes them to turn brown and snap easily. It’s easy to mistake this for drought or frost damage, but a closer look will reveal the real culprit. Look for:
- Tiny (2-3 mm) black beetles hanging out where the shoots are bending.
- Pieces of bark falling off, revealing 1-3 mm boreholes.
- Feeding tunnels (galleries) under the bark on branches and the trunk.
- Piles of “sawdust” (frass) at the base of the tree.
- Excessive sap or resin leaking from the bark.
- Eventually, the cypress will die off completely.
Leaf Miners (Cypress Tip Moths)
These larvae bore right into the tips of the shoots and hollow them out from the inside, causing them to turn brown. Since brown tips can also be a sign of fungal disease, check to see if the insides are actually hollowed out. These moths also leave behind tiny black crumbs (their droppings). To handle them, prune away the affected parts and get rid of them immediately. Since the larvae are mostly active at night and hard to spot, it’s a good idea to follow up with a standard insecticide.
Pro Tip:
From April through late fall, try spraying vulnerable trees every two weeks with stinging nettle tea (nettle manure) as a natural preventative measure.
Mealybugs
Mealybugs are actually pretty easy to spot with the naked eye since they’re about 1-5 mm long. You’ll also notice a sticky residue (honeydew) coating the needles and tips. If your tree is still small, you can try wiping the bugs off with a mild soapy water solution. Just be gentle—don’t use a high-pressure hose, as cypress shoots are quite delicate and can snap. If the infestation has really taken hold, you’ll likely need to use an insecticidal spray to get things under control.
