Mountain Pine Beetle Epidemic

Beetles flying east, A Crisis in North America and our own back yards

Most of us have seen the brown mountainsides on the I-70 corridor or have read news accounts about the current mountain pine beetle epidemic.   Here are some staggering figures:

• In Colorado, this is the most severe pine beetle epidemic in 125 years.
• Since 1996, the beetles have chewed their way through 3.2 million acres of the Colorado forest.
• Colorado is just a part of the total mountain pine beetle epidemic.  In the Rocky Mountains including United States and Canada, a staggering 40 million acres of pine forest has been infested by the beetles. 
• Easterly, mountain pine beetle was recently discovered in the north central Nebraska Sand Hill ponderosa pine forest. 
• Researchers at the University of Alberta have confirmed mountain pine beetle in the native jack pine forest – this is a key gateway to central and eastern North America forests. 

Can it get any worse than this?  The answer to that question is yes it can.  Mountain pine beetle is now not just a mountain forest pest, it is in our own residential back yards. 

In 2008, beetles were discovered in several northern Colorado communities including Fort Collins and Greeley.  Last summer (2010), beetles were found infesting many areas of the Denver metropolitan area from Arvada and Brighton on the north to Parker and Castle Rock on the south. 

The 2010 Colorado State Forest Service annual report* indicates the mapped mountain pine beetle infestation jumped from 22,000 to 229,000 acres along the Colorado front-range.  This tenfold increase in activity is most severe in Larimer, Boulder, Clear Creek and Gilpin Counties. 

Why are landscaped trees being targeted by pine beetles?  The plausible answer is that much of the food supply in the mountains ran out.  They ate themselves out of house and home and the beetles have been able to adapt to new food sources and environments.  

The call to action is now.  Effective and cost effective topical trunk sprays with a high pressure sprayer should be applied by early July.  According to the Colorado State Forest Service, only insecticides containing Permethrin, Bifenthrin, or Carbaryl are effective. 

*2010 Report on the Health of Colorado Forests.  [Online]. Colorado State Forest Service (Producer). Available: http://csfs.colostate.edu/pdfs/FINAL_2010_Forest_Health_Report_www.pdf