Are they considered a wood distroying insect?
Good article, we also have them in the southeast, they have a major problem cycle of about 7 years, for example, they are always present but do major damage about every 5-7 years.
The pine beetles like loblolly pines also that are in the yellow pine family.
They are attracted to logging activity due to the fresh cut smell and they release scents to attract even more pine beetles.
After loggers cleared about an acre for my house, I lost about half an acre of loblolly’s in 2001 out of 7 acres, I cut and burned every day for about 3-4 weeks and ran them off. Everyone said it couldn’t be done but it worked, I may have saved close to 100 acres of pines in my neighborhood.
Good article Nick. I see one issue.
Infected trees can be identified in the following ways:
- There will be evidence of woodpeckers feeding on trunk.
Should be feeding on the trunk.
Just did a home with this tree in the back yard. Locally, and I tell this to my customers; The cost of removal, unless it can be dropped without hitting anything is about triple what one costs to take down if it is still alive. Once all the pine needles have dropped off the tree it is very dangerous to climb so they charge a lot more to take one down if it is near something and can not be felled with just a “come along” and chainsaw. This is a very big problem locally as the paper making industry is huge here and there a hundreds of thousands of acres of pine trees that are owned by Champion paper. Beetles don’t care whose pine trees they infest though and will wipe out wide swashes of trees in no time at all. The beetles bore into the tree trunks, the sap and water can not go up to the top of the trees any longer so the trees die. If you see one, there will be at one large area where the bores entered covered with smelly (sour foul odor) sap and water bleeding all down the tree. I see them a lot here.
utah is being devastated by these beetles. Its really sad to see the forests that I camped in as a kid totally dead now.
Great article.
I think those are a different species than those in the Rockies and Canada
Kevin - fiiiiine
David - the forests will come back, better and different than before 
Sure