Prevent Pine Bark Beetle Spread: Time to Remove Infected Trees

Winter is the ideal time to cut and chip infected wood to freeze larvae.

With the Farmer’s Almanac predicting possibly colder-than-normal temps for January and February in the Northwest, now in late December is the perfect time to take the steps necessary to expose larvae to the extended freezing times needed to kill them.

If you have identified an infested tree, you also have a ticking time bomb of larvae, which will overwinter in the tree’s inner bark, and then hatch in the spring to start infecting more trees. The bark acts as insulation to keep the larvae from extended freezing temperatures, so you’ll need to process the cut wood correctly to make sure the larvae are exposed and die.

I have extended instructions on how to remove beetle-infested trees, and the most important takeaway is that just cutting the tree down is not enough to prevent the spread. You can’t just pile it up and call it good. Wintertime chipping and spreading is ideal to expose the larvae to the cold, but if the wood is too large to chip, you can debark it, and then either chip, burn, or landfill the infected bark.

If you don’t have time to cut and process your wood now, in the Saltese area you’re generally safe to do so through March. If you wait much longer, it could be too late, as it was for me in 2024 when I waited until April.

Now is also a good time to make plans for applying insecticide to the trees on your property in the spring. It takes everyone being vigilant to keep our trees healthy.