Evaluating the girdle and herbicide method for containing oak wilt

The vibratory plow has been the standard treatment for containing oak wilt, with longterm data demonstrating the effectiveness. However, the ability to get a vibratory plow and operator to the oak wilt pocket in a timely manner can be difficult, and often the terrain or soil type can be limiting. The girdle and herbicide method for treating oak wilt could be a quick, inexpensive alternative that could be applied on any type of terrain. In this study we implement the girdle and herbicide method on 42 different oak wilt pockets across the state of Wisconsin and monitor the results for four years after treatment. We present results that illustrate that this method can be highly effective when applied to pockets with a small number of infected trees.