Pine Beetles

[breaksraver13]

As I see it......there aren't as many fires to clear out the forest, so the beetle will take care of it.......but, what I have wondered is if all the trees are dead, won't the beetle die out due to lack of food and the tree's grow back and the cycle just start over again?

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by Idunn

,,, the entire trunk of the tree must be sprayed. Right to the top. Take a look at your favorite tall tree and imagine the magnitude of that task. She wasn't aware off hand of any sprays for beetles that were not toxic. Meaning, not the kind of things you want on yourself or in nearby water.
...

It is very difficult to treat trees with sprays, and systemics are not good on soil or water. Treating a whole forest is impossible. The beetle has been under attack for over 30 years and is only increasing in damage. The Granby, Grand Lake area is especially hard hit. I too figure a very big fire or a century of time will be all that remedies the situation.

in the meantime, here are a couple 'defensible Space' sites

Creating Wildfire-Defensible Zones
Firewise Communities

I would at least double the safe zone if I was in a beetle kill area, and have no combustibles around or on the house. I would expect the dry fuels of beetle kill will not be as hot of a fire as a healthy forest, probably go quick, so don't be waiting around for an 'evacuate' order. Probably more info on BC Forest website. They are dealing with it too, and have a lot of timber industry $$ to lose.

[breaksraver13]

I had a client at work tell me the other day that beetle kill wood was actually beautiful.....it would be nice if they could just log out all of that dead wood and make something out of it...............Just food for thought!

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/new...-kill-motor-f/