Pine bark beetles?

[chain2]

So was it cold enough, for long enough on the frontlines this winter?
Here's hopin so...chain

[milesfromthere]

I hope it did, cuz it here in B C it turned the forest red. go canucks go

[MrDave]

Heard earlier in the month that in some areas the temp was low enough, long enough. Somewhere around 80% in those areas.

[Whiskey Wish]

The "official" line I heard is that EARLY cold is the best. Later in the winter the beetle has had time to burrow into the bark and go beneath the snow line which increases survivability. After he said all that he said ANY cold is welcome because it all serves to reduce beetle numbers. I hate the thought of losing the nice pine trees in my yard. I fight with the wildlife every winter to keep them off my apple trees.....I LOST again this year. All my apples have been pruned back again. No fruit for Dave in 2009.
I also heard that if/when the pine beetle runs out of pine it is capable of switching to spruce. Anybody know about this ?

Keep Your Powder Dry,
Dave.

[MrDave]

Yea, that's true from what I hear. I know my favorite spot in Central Alberta was turning red to the west when I was there two years ago. Not a pretty sight.

[TreeGuy]

IMHO, the freeze came too late this year and will have a fairly minimal effect. Not only do they burrow in as it gets colder, their 'internals' develop a type of antifreeze. The cold gotta catch the buggers early, before they can naturally adapt. This year it did not.

Tree

[thumper]

I see a product called 'Contech Verbenone Mountain Pine Beetle Repellent' advertised in our local paper, with a 'information session' scheduled at our local building centre April 24th.
The ad says "Verbenone replicates the beetle's own pheremones, sending a message that the tree is full and that incoming beetles need to look elsewhere to find a more suitable host"

- says it 'helps protect high value pine trees'

I've got 3 older lodgepole pines that I've built a deck around that I'd like to keep beetle-free, so I might check this product out.

Tree- have you ever heard anything about it?

[TreeGuy]

Thumper, I haven't, but the principal seems sound. Here's their site....

http://www.contech-inc.com/products/pinebeetle/

Let's pray it works. I had the family out to Lake Louise on Saturday and noticed a red 'tinge' occuring in a number of areas. This bugger is bad news. I wonder if some type of systemic insecticide might help save your lodgepoles? Hell, you may just want to get 'experimental' and water in a combimation of moth balls and cyanne pepper around the dripline to act as a repellant just for chits 'n giggles! Shouldn't hurt so long as you don't go too silly with it.

Tree

[deanmc]

Early field tests indicate that despite enduring a bone chilling cold snap in late November and early December, many of Alberta’s mountain pine beetles managed to survive the assault from Mother Nature.

Generally two days of -40C temperatures are required to kill the cold-hardy bug. With several weather stations across the province registered temperatures that low (and southern stations in the Crowsnest Pass recording temperatures of -38C), the Canadian Forest Service model was used to estimate the effect on beetles. The model predicted only about 80 per cent of beetles in the hardest hit areas may have been killed off by the cold.

A winter mortality of at least 97.5 per cent is needed for populations to remain static the following spring.

Following the cold snap, preliminary field samples were taken in southern and northwest portions of the province to gauge beetle mortality. Early indications support the model’s prediction in northwest Alberta (80 per cent mortality), however samples taken in southern Alberta point to a stronger mountain pine beetle survival rate than predicted. Beetle populations may be further affected if there are additional cold snaps this winter.

Extensive over-winter mortality surveys will be conducted by forest health staff in the spring to determine the impact.

http://www.srd.gov.ab.ca/forests/hea...bbulletin.aspx

Actual Beetle surveys will not start until late may early june. Real survival rates will be known then. Cross your fingers.

[MountainTi]

Originally Posted by deanmc

A winter mortality of at least 97.5 per cent is needed for populations to remain static the following spring.


.

Heard that exact same number just the other day. Also heard that out west here they are thinking they may have had up to a 92% kill, but according to the above figure it just may not be enough.

[MrDave]

Originally Posted by chain2

So was it cold enough, for long enough on the frontlines this winter?
Here's hopin so...chain

Spotted this in the Red Deer Advocate, quite interesting.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/redd..._45978872.html

[LongDraw]

Originally Posted by MrDave

Spotted this in the Red Deer Advocate, quite interesting.

http://www.albertalocalnews.com/redd..._45978872.html

Great link, sounds promising.

[Matt L.]

Yup, it looks like it might be quite successful, it is an age-old premise.... My dad was hanging some of those traps last year. From what I heard, they worked pretty good. Maybe we will stop the damn thing here.

[Grizzly Adams]

Bit of a headshaker for me. We've been logging mostly spruce and fir and re-foresting with pine. Doesn't sound logical, given our predicament.
Grizz