We may have finally figured out how to control the pine beetle problem.

As most of you might know, many forrests are being destroyed by these beetles when they burrow under the bark, breed, and bleed the tree out. It kills the tree, and when trees are dead and dry, the fire danger sky rockets!

Like bees, pine beetles give off a pheromone that tells the others where to attack (eat). BUT, the pine beetle has ANOTHER scent that tells the others when the tree has reached it's maximum capacity of beetles. When the others smell it, they move on to a different tree. Now researchers can use that scent to get rid of the problem, by treating the trees with the scent to keep beetles AWAY, instead of having to spray poison or burn the tree.

Do you think this could work?

Source: https://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jul/06/speakout-synthetic-pheromone-packets-a-safer-way/

Excellent idea! It has to work!

Sounds like a compound used by exterminators...looks like peanut butter, the roaches love it, but it sterilizes them...pretty soon, no roaches, and I understand that it is non toxic to us.(it is applied in cracks and behind electrical switches/outlets in the walls,basically).

Sounds like a great idea!

Makes sense. I hope the BC government tries this out next year because we're losing way too much of our forests to those bastards.

I take it these Pine beetles live in Pine trees??.

Where I live there is a problem with this certain kind of caterpillars which live and breed in pine trees,they are poisonious especially harmful to kids,old people and pets.





They march along in lines that are 5+ metres long,well weird creatures.

Don't know why felt compelled to share this pretty much pointless information with you but there you are???

That is a disturbing picture. They look like shoelaces.

That's actually well cool, lol. Must get squished a lot on the roads though.

I've only ever seen them once in nearly 10 years but I've seen loads of nest,it freaked me out a bit when I did.The was a line about 10 metres long lol.

https://web.cortland.edu/fitzgerald/PineProcessionary.html

No I've never seen any on the roads a before,probably because they live in woods and spend most of their time up trees.