Pests and Disease
The City of Brampton's Urban Forestry Section does not provide widespread chemical controls for insects or disease. The province has initiated a pesticide ban, which restricts the use of pesticides within the municipality. Our staff monitor trees throughout the City daily, and we have two plant health care specialists that assist in diagnosing pest and diseases.
Wasps and Hornets
  A wasp is a predatory, flying, stinging insect, with a stinger and membranous forewings and hind wings. It is related to ants and bees, with all being members of order Hymenoptera, but is separated from ants and bees by having a stinger and no hair.
An Integrated Pest Management Specialist will respond to all public concerns regarding wasp and hornet nests in City trees.A nest will only be destroyed if located on branches no higher than 5 metres (15 feet) above the ground, and the Supervisor of Urban Forestry or designate determines if it's a hazard to the public. Upon destruction of the nest, it is completely removed.
Bees
 Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their roles of producing honey, beeswax and pollination. Bees play an important role in our ecosystem by pollinating flowering plants, or on gathering nectar, therefore it is the City’s responsibility to ensure these types of insects are not destroyed.
An Integrated Pest Management representative will respond to all public concerns regarding bee colonies in City trees. The Integrated Pest Management representative will remove the bee nest and contact a local bee keeper relocating the colony.
Aphids
Aphids are tiny insects (1/32 to 1/8 of an inch) that have piercing/sucking mouth parts,
and are also known as plant lice. Aphids are among the most destructive insect pests
on cultivated plants in temperate regions. They infest tender new foliage on both annual and permanent plants, usually in spring or early summer. Aphids ingest the fluids from tender leaf or stem tissue of the plant, robbing it of nutrients. Aphids also spread disease by moving from one plant to another.
For severe infestations, an Urban Forestry representative will spray a strong jet of water or soap/water mix directly onto the affected area of the plant. The stream will wash the insects off.
Emerald Ash Borer
The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is a highly destructive insect that attacks and kills ash trees. Native to eastern Asia, EAB was first discovered in Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan, in 2002. In 2008, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed the presence of EAB in Brampton and other neighbouring municipalities.
Currently, the infestation in Brampton is progressing, and affected ash trees on public and private property within the City of Brampton are dying. The City is taking steps to mitigate the loss of these trees. Click here for more information.
Asian Long Horn Beetle
 The Asian Long Horned Beetle (ALB) is native to China and other areas of the Far East, where it causes widespread mortality of poplar, willow, elm and maple trees.
The beetle, known as the Starry Sky or Sky Oxen beetle in China, is a large black insect with white spots dashed irregularly on its elytra (wing covers). Adults are typically 1 to 1.5 inches (2.5 to 3.8 cm) long. The distinctive long antennae that give the beetle its common name are as long as the body in females and almost twice the body length in males.
The ALB is considered an invasive species in North America, where it is a serious threat to many species of deciduous hardwood trees. During the larval stage, the ALB bores deep into a tree's heartwood, where it feeds on the tree's nutrients. The tunneling damages and eventually kills the tree. Tree species considered ALB host species include all species of maple (Norway, sugar, silver, and red maple) as well as Horse Chestnut, Poplar, Willow, Birch, London Plane, Mountain Ash, Mimosa (silk tree), Elm and Hackberry.
Gypsy Moth
The European Gypsy Moth is an introduced defoliating insect that is considered a major pest in North America. The caterpillar, or larva stage of the insect, eats the leaves of trees making them more susceptible to disease and damage from other insects.
Locust Plant Bug
 Nymphs feed on the developing buds and leaves. They use a “lacerate and flush” feeding style that produces a lot of injury to the feeding site. Young leaves and buds are often killed. Older leaves may survive but show discoloration and deformation of developing foliage due to localized necrosis around feeding points. Heavy infestations may greatly retard foliage development in spring and have been associated with twig and branch dieback.
Anthracnose  
Anthracnose fungi may cause defoliation of most Maple, Oak, Elm, Walnut, Birch, Sycamore, and Hickory species and, occasionally, of Ash and Linden trees. Damage of this type usually occurs after unusually cool, wet weather during bud break. Single attacks are seldom harmful to the tree, but yearly infections will cause reduced growth and may predispose the tree to other stresses.
Damage may be in the form of:
- Killing of buds, which stimulates the development of many short twigs or "witches' brooms". These may spoil the shape of the tree.
- Girdling and killing of small twigs, leaves, and branches up to an inch in diametre.
- Repeated early loss of leaves, which over several successive years weakens the tree and predisposes it to borer attack and winter injury.
- Premature leaf drop, which lessens the shade and ornamental value of the tree.
Powdery Mildew
Powdery Mildew is a fungal disease that affects a wide range of plants. It is one of the easiest diseases to spot, as its symptoms are quite distinctive. Infected plants display white powder-like spots on the leaves and stems. The lower leaves are the most affected, but the mildew can appear on any part of the plant that shows above the ground. As the disease progresses, the spots get larger and thicker as massive numbers of spores form, and the mildew spreads up and down the length of the plant.
Leaf Scorch
Leaf Scorch is defined as browning of plant tissues, including leaf margins and tips, and yellowing or darkening of veins, which may lead to eventual wilting and abscission of the leaf. It is also known as leaf burn or leaf wilt.
Apple Scab and Rust
Scab is one of the most common and serious diseases of apple and flowering crabapple. The disease causes premature defoliation and a reduction in the number and quality of flowers the year following defoliation, and can predispose trees to winter injury and other diseases.
Scab first appears in early spring as roughly circular, velvety, olive-green spots on both the upper and lower surfaces of leaves. The spots eventually turn dark-green to brown and develop a rough texture. Some leaf distortion may accompany infection of expanding foliage. Numerous leaf or petiole infections will cause leaf yellowing and premature defoliation.
Tar Spot
Tar spot is a very distinctive disease of maples. It causes round to irregular black, tar-like spots on infected leaves. These spots are not noticeable until late summer. Tar spots of maple are caused by two species of the fungus Rhytisma which produce different symptoms. The first species, Rhytisma acerinum, produces black, tar-like spots about 1.25 cm or more in diameter on the upper surface of infected leaves. The second species, R. punctatum, produces patches of small, 1mm wide spots and is often called speckled tar spot. The thickened black spots are actually fungal tissue called stroma. Red, silver, Norway (including the varieties with red leaves) sugar and Manitoba maples as well as others are affected by tar spot diseases.
An Urban Forestry representative will respond to all public concerns regarding the presence of Tar Spots
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