Pine beetle fight suspended until the spring of 2017

With winter setting in, the efforts to halt an infestation of pine beetles in ponderosa pine trees is on hold until the spring, WSU Extension Agent Steve Van Vleet told the Gazette Monday.

The infestation of western pine, turpentine and ips beetles was discovered in July. The three species of beetles infest at different spots on the trees. The western pine are typically found in the four to eight foot range on the tree, while the turpentines infest at the bottom within the first two feet and the ips infest at the top.

Van Vleet and Colfax city arborist Molly Rice set to work to start combatting the beetle infestation this fall. Pheromone traps were set up to get beetles out of the trees and lured to the traps.

In late September, Van Vleet said he had been collecting beetles with the use of pheromone traps. Though he had collected more than 1,000 beetles, he warned that there were still thousands more.

“I got over 700 or so beetles in just one week, and the time before that, I got 500 in a week,” he told the Gazette in September. “That's not even a dent. There's hundreds of thousands out there.”

Van Vleet said the spring will be a good time to really get to work on ridding Colfax of the beetles.

“That's when they'll be emerging,” he said. “We'll have more of a plan then.”

Van Vleet said part of the plan right now includes identifying which trees can be saved.

“We'll target the ones that we want to prevent from dying,” he said. “We can't do everything.”

Once a tree is more than half dead, there is nothing more that can be done for it. Trees that reach this stage will be removed and burned. Beetles, however, remain even if a tree is dead, so that is why it is important to burn it rather than let it sit or even run it through a wood chipper.

Van Vleet said there have not been any trees taken down since the infestation was discovered. He noted trees along Lake Street which are infested will likely be removed.

“I told them to take down those ones, but it hasn't been done yet,” he said.

During the winter, Van Vleet advises leaving the infestation alone.

“Just let it sit,” he said. “They're not active now. Once it turns spring they'll start attacking again.”

Van Vleet noted this is a good time to work to identify infested trees. Anyone who suspects an infested tree should contact the extension office.

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