20
Apr

Contact us at (719)400-9104 to schedule and estimate on removing beetle-killed forests.

The mountain pine beetle is in the media a lot. This insect has managed to kill a lot of forests. A total of 3.3 million acres of land in Colorado alone has been affected by mountain pine beetles, with spruce beetles killing another million acres. It was lodgepole pines affected first, but now the beetles have moved onto ponderosa pines.

The Hardiness of the Beetles

A mountain pine beetle is one of the hardiest of all insects. The larvae can withstand the extreme cold thanks to the glycol (the chemical compound that creates antifreeze!) within the outer layers. It would take bark temperatures of -30F to kill the larvae.

It takes a human effort to manage the problem. This is more than just the use of fire, which the beetles create more of a problem for because of the dead or diseased trees.

Using the Beetle-Killed Trees

It’s hard to get many people to go out and remove the dead trees to prevent fire. Logging is the best, but it’s not viable. The dead trees are usually too small for commercial value. Sawmills want trees with minimal flaws. Trees that have died can create the beautiful blue-stained wood, but this requires trees to have died a long time ago.

The trees that have been killed by the beetles are really only good for pellets for heating homes or for wood straw. The pellet market isn’t what it used to be since the price of oil dropped. Pellets are now more popular for cleaning up oil spills.

So, what can be done? The real question is whether anything really needs to happen.

The Forests Recover Quickly

The truth of the matter is that the forests tend to recover relatively quickly. In fact, the surviving trees from the beetle attacks can end up thriving better. They have more water, light, and nutrients, so they end up growing faster and better.

This is a situation that the experts are keeping an eye on. Some maintenance and care is required, but there is good that comes from the bad.

Colorado Mastication removes dead tree with specialized equipment which is faster and more efficient. Give us a call at (719)400-9104 to schedule an estimate on removing beetle-killed forests.