Pine-beetle epidemic heading south ( looking for new trees to destroy )

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ^ | August 27, 2006 | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

[TChris]

The best treatment, he said, is proper forest management, including thinning.

* GASP! *

You mean, we're supposed to cut down trees? But cutting down trees will destroy the planet!

Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhrrrrrrrgggggghhhhh.....

[Carry_Okie]

I am a gardener, not an entomologist not a forester.

It sounded like it (which is not a perjorative); I'm a sort of cross between the two.

"one would need an enormous count of these worms to do serious damage to an advanced infestation."

The point is that the beetles are propagating without nematodes while the nematodes can't propagate without beetles to eat. Mathematically that means they cannot eradicate but can only control a population.

I suppose--not know--that since the nematodes are parasitizing the grubs that their numbers will increase to match the available food source.

How effective this will be depends upon how far behind the curve one is when the nematodes are applied (breeding rate of nematodes v. beetles). It's a question of economics. I doubt that the nematodes are very good at moving large distances to find a new host without drying out or starving (which would of course, constitute nematode-cruelty; where's PETA when you need them? ;-), so, to be an effective control, one would need to cover the tree with only a few beetles in it to eat, which is an inefficient means of preventative control. If one waits until there are enough beetles to feed and propagate nematodes you are already behind the curve. IOW, it may work in your yard where you value highly each tree, but I question whether it is an economical control process on a landscape scale.

Good response, thank you. I value first-hand experience highly.

[Mamzelle]

These bugs have already been south and done a lot of damage--if the trees have had plenty of water they can often survive.

[MD_Willington_1976]

I dug a couple out of my Austrian pine in my backyard, I'm in the SE Corner of WA state, close to the Idaho border... I'm going to have to get rid of the tree, it's a mess.

[george76]

The Sierra Club lawyers are still filing lawsuits to prevent foresters from using science to solve these problems.

It is so bad now, that the options are very limited.

[george76]

It is too bad to lose favorite trees.

To get rid of all the bugs is really tough as they are so small, they hide in branches of removed trees, and they hide in healthy looking trees.

[george76]

the trees have gotten so thick and crowded that they're weak and susceptible to attack.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Thank you, happy to share it!

"The point is that the beetles are propagating without nematodes while the nematodes can't propagate without beetles to eat."

I would need more knowledge of entomology and the ecology of pine forests to respond. I know that the labs that produce them feed them on meal worms. They do not feed exclusively on pine borer grubs so this may not necessarily be true provided there is something else to eat somewhere on the tree (Pine sawyer larvae?).

"Mathematically that means they cannot eradicate but can only control a population."

In a true wilderness setting this might not be an issue. Some trees may die, and insect and woodpecker damage is tolerated. Hard to say how it would work for forestry purposes. It might be interesting to do a search and see if there have been any field trials of PN in large tracts of loggable timber.

(I wonder if BT would work on these grubs? Well, maybe for another thread...)

[Carry_Okie]

It might be interesting to do a search and see if there have been any field trials of PN in large tracts of loggable timber.

I did. I didn't find much that wasn't mixed in with a lot of other unrelated material.

[forester]

Interesting thread re: predatory nematodes.

It boils down to money. There are millions of acres of overstocked timberlands. We scarcely have the money to treat the trees in the campgrounds. (yes, I have seen men in bunny suits spray high value campground trees with a 60' boom truck)

At some point, we will have to take responsibility for the fact that we humans have interupted the natural cycle. We cannot "wish the overcrowded trees away" nor look for a silver bullet.

The fact is that there are too many trees - too many for the land to support. If the pine beatle doesn't kill them, drought or disease will.

I say it is better to turn these trees into power or products then to let them become worm food or burn in a confligration.

[HairOfTheDog]

I haven't had time to read this thread yet, but I agree with this last post :~)

Thanks for the pings :~)

[george76]

Thank you.

.

[MD_Willington_1976]

Nah, the tree is girded and has a pipe hammered through it, for what reason, I do not know... It's ugly, I plan on planting some new trees by it and leaving it for a while.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Mole Crickets? You might be able to control them with the nematodes that were discussed above. I can get them locally, you can go on line and do a search. Gardens alive has them. There may be other sites. Territorial seeds, Peaceful Valley are a couple of other places to try. If its not mole crickets I don't know.