Area becoming infested with pine bark beetle, official says

FAR WEST TEXAS – Local residents with Afghan pine, pinyon pine, Japanese black pine, and Atlas Cedar trees should be aware that there is an emerging threat to the health of their trees: the IPS pine bark beetle.

Texas Forest Service Urban Forester Oscar Mestas of El Paso has identified the pest in the area last week.

The following are his eradication recommendations.

The most important thing to do is to remove the standing – fading trees, gray-green in color – and remove them off site.  These need to be burned, or buried.

If you cannot do this the next best thing is to  place in  a large open field scattered – not piled – where the heat of the day can help kill the larvae and adults under the bark.

Leaving the tree onsite or standing will allow the beetles to complete their life cycle and move on to a new host.

There will be several generations this year.  What you are seeing now is probably the 2nd and maybe the 3rd generation.

These beetle probably moved into the area at the end last year, overwintered in nearby pine trees and this Spring started infesting new standing timber.

Since these beetles don’t or seldom produce the typical pitch tube when attacking fresh – green – pine trees especially the Afghan pines, I did not see pitch tubes I only saw them on the pinyon pine.

Most people do not notice the fresh attack and will let their trees stand, brooding new beetle generations as the trees fade from dark green to gray-green and eventually  red-brown.

Don’t use fresh green pine chips around healthy trees as mulch, the fresh pine smell is an attractant.   Older dried/cured chips are fine to use.

Green is good, if not infested, and look very closely to be sure the tree is has not been attacked, that is, no signs of frass, or sawdust; no signs of pitch tubes; and bark is still tight and intact.

Take action by watering heavily at least once a week, watering thoroughly around the drip line of the tree and under the canopy making sure the water penetrates to a depth of 12 inches or one inch per week.

Spray the entire tree fron top to bottom, wetting the trunk and main branches with insecticides labeled for pine bark beetle containing the active ingredient of (Carbaryl; Permethrin; or Bifenthrin). A TDA registered and licensed pesticide applicator will know  and have a product.

Follow up with spraying throughout the growing season, as recommended by the label of the product that is being used, probably every 4 to 6 months.

If possible spray once for immediate protection, and  follow up with a systemic injection of a product called Tree Age®, produced by Syngenta, the active ingredients is emamectin benzoate. This product, in several trials across the United States, has shown to be hopeful and should be longer lasting. But this should be applied under a pressurized injection system such as “Arbor Jet.”

Green is bad on the affected tree, if freshly attacked. The tree is what I may identify as, “dead but just does not know it yet.”

Remove off site immediately and burn, bury or spray.

Gray-green, or fading trees have no chance of recovery.

Remove off site immediately and burn, bury or spray.

Red-Brown, or dead, standing trees, may mean the beetles have moved on to other trees, so remove before becoming a hazard.

Treatments of products containing imidacloprid – Merritt® – have shown not to be effective.  Also spraying with other types of insecticides other than mentioned  above also have not been proven to be effective.  Injections with other chemicals also have not been proven to be effective.

The one most important thing to do at this time, is water your healthy trees, but don’t waste water on fading trees or newly infested trees.

The second most important thing to do is to remove as soon as possible the standing gray-green trees off site and away from other pine trees. http://beetles.mt.gov/Preventing/spraying.asp.

Some have asked about covering with plastic, and I guess if you can cover the trees with clear plastic and seal the edges with piles of dirt, the heat produced will kill any larvae and adult beetles.

Mestas adds that using a licensed pesticide applicator with the correct equipment for the job when contracting work. His last thought was “Last line, doing nothing is a gamble with your living healthy pine tree at this point (in my opinion).  Remember that you should advise your clients to look at and weigh all their options before taking action.”

For more information call Logan Boswell at 837-6207,  Jesse Schneider at 729-4746 or Oscar Mestas at 915-834-5610.