I've been advised to call an arborist.

===>> that was brilliant advice.. please do so.. and then ask us to interpret the findings...

tree time is counted in decades... how or when things happen is left to those decades ... no one knows how long it will stand upright..

the key is.. if AND WHEN IT FALLS... will it fall on anything important.. like the house.. if so.. you should plan on removing it...

why is the tree on irrigation? .. is virginia hurricane area??? .. i dont think so.. but it is a variable if so...

ken

If the tree falls, it could fall on cars in the driveway or in the road (or on people??) but isnt close enough to the house to do any damage there.

The soaker hose is for plants on either side of the tree. They were just planted a few months ago and depend on the tree for shade :( The soaker hose was added a little over a week ago - right before we had a week of daily rain! So its only been turned on long enough to test it.

I'm close enough to the coast that there is small risk of hurricanes here, and of wind from tropical storms. But the last really bad hurricane we had was Isabel in 2003.

This guy (gal?) was here this morning also. Eek!

yes! how can I have both yellow jackets and hornets trying to live in the same tree? Surely they dont want to live together?

Was the hornet actually entering the hole? That species usually constructs its nest outside of an existing structure, whereas yellow jackets are more likely to be nesting inside a cavity. Bald-faced hornets often chew on wood to create the material used in constructing their nests, so perhaps it was just scraping up some bark for that purpose.

I think you are right, I've only seen two hornets (or the same one twice, I don't know) and they haven't actually gone in the hole. I just had someone come look at it, and he said just some sevin should take care of it, its not an established nest yet. So I shook some around the hole at a moment when there weren't any flying around. Crossing my fingers that is the end of that.

I didn't know hornets chewed wood like that! interesting.

My tree still sounds like its days are numbered. Thats a lot worse than some insects :( Honestly really sad about this.

Your first picture sara, at the base of the trunk, shows signs that there could be circling roots under the soil, which could cause the tree to have an unstable root system.

An on-site inspection by an arborist would reveal things we cannot see with pictures.

Slime flux itself generally will not kill the tree. It's a bacterial infection and will manifest itself in splits and other issues the tree may have. The secretion will draw all kinds of flies, beetles and other insects wanting the somewhat intoxicating beverage flowing from the tree. :-)

The yellow hornets may very well be nesting inside the tree, in a void or cavity.

As an aside, I had 'Bumble flower beetles' visiting a small spot of slime flux on one of my small pin oaks a few years ago. Turns out it was a borer in there, but it caused the tree to secrete enough liquid to draw the 3/4" long, slow moving, camouflaged beetles (4).

I'm going to find an arborist. I was under the impression that slime flux at the base of the tree like that, in combination with the bark loss, spelled death for my tree.

Those beatles are so interesting!

You could start here: https://www.asca-consultants.org/search/custom.asp?id=3818