Understanding a Pine Beetle Infestation
What is a Pine Beetle?
The notorious pine beetle is quite common in the Pacific Northwest region due to the numerous ponderosa pines, which are the bugs' favorite trees. Pine beetles make their home in pine trees by tunneling through the wood to lay their eggs. This process results in severe, irreversible damage to the tree.
Should You be Worried About a Pine Beetle Infestation?
Pine beetles are present year-round, but the bulk of their activity occurs around May and August, which is when they come in and out of the tree. Their entrance and exit leave about 1/4" holes oozing sap called pitch tubes from about 10ft up down to the bottom of a tree's trunk. Able to smell fresh cut or broken limbs from almost 100 miles away, the beetles are almost impossible to keep away from damaged trees. They will also move into healthy trees if distressed or broken trunks are unavailable. This means that entire forested areas are at risk and leaving the situation unmanaged could be detrimental to your landscape.
What Can You Do About Pine Beetles?
Unfortunately, these pests can be hard to prevent and treat on your own, especially because they are often difficult to spot until it is too late. However, before you cut down your beautiful ponderosa pines, consider hiring a company to treat them. Better yet - do what you can now to prevent a beetle infestation! With timely applications and quality products, you can have beautiful, strong trees and healthy plants.
Why hire Renew?
When it comes to dealing with a pine beetle infestation, our goal is to prolong the life of the trees and prevent further damage. In addition, our staff's extensive knowledge of the pests' habits means that we can focus on keeping the beetles at bay in places where they are most likely to show up.
We use two high-quality products. One is fast-acting for effective treatment. Our prevention product is a slower application as the trees drink up the solution. Both yearly applications are extremely effective.
Though pine beetles are detrimental to ponderosa pines only, there are plenty of other trees that we treat like aspens, Douglas firs, and birch trees due to other beetles' destruction.
Want to protect your trees? Still not sure if you're dealing with this pest? Schedule a complimentary analysis with our experts today.