It's June, so wounded oaks in North Carolina are oozing slime and drawing a panoply of pests looking to party. This is not the slime flux that you find in elm crotches, these are more virulent bacteria at work. The slime kills bark, and carpenterworms and other baddies follow.
Slime flux is often known as a condition best left untreated, but Colorado State U has a bulletin on it (go to TreeHelp.com, click diseases, click slime flux) that gives a treatment prorocol that makes sense to me.
Dead bark is removed, so the wound can close better.
I use 10% bleach (being careful to get noe into the soil) to disinfect the bacteria, even if temporarily. With this treatment, wounds will close. (this bsed on ten years of anecdotal evidence) Without it, the tree is likely to keep losing bark until it dies, barring a miracle.
As with cavity cleaning, there are disadvantages. According to the literature, drying out the wounded area makes it more susceptible to decay. But treatment can stop the bacteria from spreading, and makes it easier to control borers.
What else is an arborist to do?