Our Story
Trees Shouldn’t Have to Suffer to Be Treated
ArborSystems was founded by Chip Doolittle, who set out to fix a problem the tree care industry had accepted for decades: drilling holes into trees just to deliver chemical treatment. What started as one arborist’s frustration became the Wedgle Direct-Inject System — a no-drill trunk injection method that’s protected trees since the mid-1990s, with every hardware component still manufactured in the United States.
Where It Started
During his early years working within the tree care industry, Chip Doolittle often cringed at the standard drilling methods used to treat trees. Boring deep holes directly into a trunk to inject chemicals for curative or preventative care seemed entirely backwards to him; the very treatment meant to help a tree was simultaneously wounding it.
So he built something different. In the mid-1990s, Chip developed the Wedgle Direct-Inject System and founded ArborSystems around it. Instead of a drilled hole, the system uses a needle-like injection tip pushed directly through the bark — meaning trunk injections can be repeated year after year without the long-term damage or open entry points for pests, disease, and decay fungi that drilling leaves behind.
Chip Doolittle, Founder of ArborSystems
Why No-Drill Matters
ArborSystems’ Wedgle Direct-Inject System remains the only trunk injection method that doesn’t require a drilled hole — a distinction highlighted in the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) of Midwest Landscapes manual. Arborists and consumers are encouraged to avoid trunk injection methods that involve drilling, since those holes can permanently damage a tree’s ability to move and store water and nutrients.
Think of it like the difference between a vaccine and a wound that needs stitches. A needle-like injection heals quickly; a drilled hole doesn’t — and it stays a way in for the very problems you’re trying to keep out.
“Deep injection holes into trees…makes no sense.”
Dr. Alex Shigo, Father of Modern Arboriculture
5 Minutes or Less
Average time to treat a tree with the Direct-Inject System
Since 2001
Documented Emerald Ash Borer treatment track record
Zero Drilling
No drilled holes, no open wounds, no long-term trunk damage
ArborSystems is best known for its Emerald Ash Borer treatment using Pointer, an imidacloprid product providing up to two years of control. 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 TreeResearch.org. Unlike spraying, soil injections, or drenching, it carries no exposure risk beyond the tree itself.
First, Do No Harm
Chip believes arborists and tree care professionals should hold themselves to the same standard as medical doctors — starting with an oath that begins “First, do no harm.” It’s the principle behind every product ArborSystems makes.
* Modern Arboriculture, page 57.