Now is the time to prune your oak trees in order to avoid oak wilt.

Oak wilt is a fungal infection affecting oak trees. All species of oak are susceptible with red oaks being particularly vulnerable.  There is currently no known cure and the best way of dealing with oak wilt is to isolate and then destroy the affected trees. The Texas Oak Wilt Information Partnership is dedicated to providing information to homeowners about this disease.

Oak wilt is caused by a fungus (Ceratocystis fagacearum) which clogs the vascular system of oak trees preventing the flow of water and nutrients. Once infected, the entire tree literally wilts and dies.

Oak wilt is spread largely in two ways, insect transmission and root transmission and is a dangerous disease.

Pruning oak trees in the proper time of year is imperative to avoiding oak wilt.

The Nitidulid beetles that carry the fungus that causes oak wilt are most active from February through May. Their activity declines as the summer temperatures rise and also subsides during the colder months November through January. Definitely, do not trim your trees from February through June. The very hottest months—July, August, September—would be a reasonably safe time to trim as would the coldest months in the winter. No matter when you trim be sure to paint the wounds IMMEDIATELY with pruning paint or even latex paint to prevent infestation.