During his early years in the tree care industry, Chip Doolittle cringed at drilling methods used to treat
trees. He believed that the techniques using drilled holes into trees to inject chemicals for curative or
preventative tree treatment were damaging trees.
He developed the Wedgle Direct-Inject System in the mid-1990s and formed ArborSystems. Now trunk
injections can be made year after year without causing long-term damage or leaving easy entry points
for pests, disease or decay fungi.
ArborSystems provides a variety of tree injection systems and insecticides, fungicides, nutrients and tree
growth regulators designed to meet a broad range of tree care needs. All of the hardware components
are manufactured in the United States.
ArborSystems’ Wedgle Direct-Inject System is the only trunk injection application method that does not
require a drilled hole as highlighted in the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) of Midwest Landscapes
manual. The system uses a needle-like injection tip that is pushed through the bark. Arborists and
consumers should avoid using other trunk injection methods that involve drilling holes in the tree as
part of the application process as that can permanently damage a tree’s ability to move and store water
and other nutrients. The no-drill method is similar to getting a small scratch or vaccine that heals quickly
versus drilling which is comparable to a cut that requires stitches and can be prone to infections. The
Wedgle Direct-Inject Tree Treatment System delivers chemicals directly inside the tree at a known dose
rate with virtually no environmental exposure.
“Deep injection holes into trees…makes no sense.”*
Dr. Alex Shigo
Father of Modern Arboriculture
ArborSystems is best known for their Emerald Ash Borer treatment using Pointer, an Imidacloprid
product for up to two-year control, and the Direct-Inject no-drill treatment system, an easy, fast, and
tree-friendly way to treat almost any tree in five minutes or less. This treatment has been credited with
the survival and recovery of thousands of Ash trees since 2001 and has been documented by Michigan
State University as seen on www.TreeResearch.org. In addition to no drilling damage, there is no
exposure risk as associated with spraying, soil injections or drenching.
He believes that arborists and tree care professionals should treat trees just like medical doctors who
take an oath that begins “First, do no harm…”
* Modern Arboriculture, page 57.