Pine shoot beetle management

Growers will need to destroy pine shoot beetle trap logs early due to the warm weather in March.

The early spring warm weather a few weeks ago has moved many activities ahead. One of these is the removal of trap logs for pine shoot beetle management and the compliance program.

Trap logs are used to trick the overwintering adult beetles when they are searching for brood material in spring. You set out nice fresh pine logs, let the adult beetles colonize the logs, and then destroy the logs before the new generation of beetles can emerge.

Culled Scotch pine trees
Culled Scotch pine trees being can be used as trap logs.

Destroying the logs before the beetle emerge is an important time window - you need to leave them out long enough to be sure that you have trapped all the old adults, but you must destroy them before any new beetles can emerge. In past years we wanted these logs destroyed in May. Due to the early warm temperatures we now need to use growing degree days to target the removal of trap logs from your fields. The trap logs must be collected and either chipped or burned starting at 200 GDD50 (growing degree days base 50) and being finished by 350 GDD50. (See Enviro-weather for current GDD accumulations.)

Cover sprays are useful for controlling the new generation of beetles as they begin to shoot-feed in the summer. The best time to apply the cover spray is at 400-450 GDD50.Use insecticides products containing either bifenthrin, chlorpyrifos or cyfluthrin.

Note: This timing is similar to the timing of gypsy moth sprays. You may be able to apply one cover spray and meet both pine shoot beelte and gypsy moth requirements.

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