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Sunday
March 14, 2010 Since 1922 |
Bark beetles strike area’s pine trees
By Kaylie Malone
Correspondent Published October 31, 2009 Having problems with your pine tree's needles turning yellow or brown and can't figure out why? Bark beetles.
There is no saving the tree after these symptoms appear. The only way to prevent it is to water the pine trees during dry season.
The Texas Forest Service tree and pest experts noticed a recent increase in the number of pine trees killed as a result of these pesky insects.
According to Texas Forest Service, bark beetles kill pines by burrowing under the bark, then feeding on and laying eggs in the inner bark. When the larvae hatch, they burrow out, leaving exit holes the size of pencil tips. These tiny holes leave the tree vulnerable to fungus and carpenter ants.
There are several types of bark beetles; ips, black turpentine, and Southern pine beetle. These beetles attack in various ways. For example, Tyler Fitzgerald, of the Texas Agrilife Extension Agent for Chambers County, said, "The Ips Beetle only attacks weakened or stressed pine trees, and are all over Chambers County and Southeast Texas."
The Southern pine beetle can affect a healthy or distressed tree, but these have not been seen in the last seven or eight years, and are not expected to be seen this next year.
Cutting down the infested tree as soon as the problem occurs will not stop the beetles from affecting surrounding trees because the larvae have already left the bark to seek out its next victim.
Tyler also said, "The trees have a ten year life cycle, and everything from the past ten years is altering them now, especially the damages from hurricanes Rita and Ike."
Tyler said they don't attack every pine tree in their course, they can skip miles worth of them, or just pick one at random. In a forest setting, their attack pattern tends to be scattered, killing a few trees here and a few there, but a they're a more serious threat in a residential area. The beetles can kill individual trees or groups of ten trees or more. There is no way to predict where the next attack will be.
Anne Taxton of Bay Area Tree Experts said they have had around 30 or 40 phone calls over the last month about dying trees, with the majority of the calls were because of bark beetles.
Recent rain has helped enhance the weakened or stressed trees. Cooler temperatures are coming in and that should help delay the beetle activity.
Landowners who own up to 10 acres of forest land can sign up for one of two Southern Pine Beetle Prevention Workshops given by the Texas Forest Service and sponsored by local forest landowners associations. Each workshop lasts from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and includes classroom lectures in the morning and a field tour in the afternoon. Registration is ten dollars at the door and includes workshop materials, lunch, snacks and drinks.
The first workshop will be held on Saturday, Nov. 21, at the Nutrition Center in the Tyler County Extension Office, 201 Veteran's Way, Suite. 102, Woodville. For more information, call 409-283-8284 or visit online at http://tyler-tx.tamu.edu.
The second workshop will be Saturday, Dec. 5, at the Angelina County Extension Office, 2201 South Medford Drive, Lufkin. For more information, call 936-632-8239 or search online at http://angelina-tx.tamu.edu.
To R.S.V.P., contact Murphrey at 936-639-8170 or email at mmurphrey(at)tfs.tamu.edu.
And as for Chambers County, Tyler said," As of right now we do not have one planned. We will probably have one mid to late summer next year."
Correspondent Published October 31, 2009 Having problems with your pine tree's needles turning yellow or brown and can't figure out why? Bark beetles.
There is no saving the tree after these symptoms appear. The only way to prevent it is to water the pine trees during dry season.
The Texas Forest Service tree and pest experts noticed a recent increase in the number of pine trees killed as a result of these pesky insects.
According to Texas Forest Service, bark beetles kill pines by burrowing under the bark, then feeding on and laying eggs in the inner bark. When the larvae hatch, they burrow out, leaving exit holes the size of pencil tips. These tiny holes leave the tree vulnerable to fungus and carpenter ants.
There are several types of bark beetles; ips, black turpentine, and Southern pine beetle. These beetles attack in various ways. For example, Tyler Fitzgerald, of the Texas Agrilife Extension Agent for Chambers County, said, "The Ips Beetle only attacks weakened or stressed pine trees, and are all over Chambers County and Southeast Texas."
The Southern pine beetle can affect a healthy or distressed tree, but these have not been seen in the last seven or eight years, and are not expected to be seen this next year.
Cutting down the infested tree as soon as the problem occurs will not stop the beetles from affecting surrounding trees because the larvae have already left the bark to seek out its next victim.
Tyler also said, "The trees have a ten year life cycle, and everything from the past ten years is altering them now, especially the damages from hurricanes Rita and Ike."
Tyler said they don't attack every pine tree in their course, they can skip miles worth of them, or just pick one at random. In a forest setting, their attack pattern tends to be scattered, killing a few trees here and a few there, but a they're a more serious threat in a residential area. The beetles can kill individual trees or groups of ten trees or more. There is no way to predict where the next attack will be.
Anne Taxton of Bay Area Tree Experts said they have had around 30 or 40 phone calls over the last month about dying trees, with the majority of the calls were because of bark beetles.
Recent rain has helped enhance the weakened or stressed trees. Cooler temperatures are coming in and that should help delay the beetle activity.
Landowners who own up to 10 acres of forest land can sign up for one of two Southern Pine Beetle Prevention Workshops given by the Texas Forest Service and sponsored by local forest landowners associations. Each workshop lasts from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and includes classroom lectures in the morning and a field tour in the afternoon. Registration is ten dollars at the door and includes workshop materials, lunch, snacks and drinks.
The first workshop will be held on Saturday, Nov. 21, at the Nutrition Center in the Tyler County Extension Office, 201 Veteran's Way, Suite. 102, Woodville. For more information, call 409-283-8284 or visit online at http://tyler-tx.tamu.edu.
The second workshop will be Saturday, Dec. 5, at the Angelina County Extension Office, 2201 South Medford Drive, Lufkin. For more information, call 936-632-8239 or search online at http://angelina-tx.tamu.edu.
To R.S.V.P., contact Murphrey at 936-639-8170 or email at mmurphrey(at)tfs.tamu.edu.
And as for Chambers County, Tyler said," As of right now we do not have one planned. We will probably have one mid to late summer next year."