Another climate panic collapses: recent harsh winters have killed off invasive pine beetles

WattsupWithThat.com ^ | February 27, 2019 | Dr. Roger Roots

[RedMonqey]

A decade ago, folks in northern states such as Minnesota, South and North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and Idaho were watching large swaths of their pine forests die off due to invasive pine beetles. The pine beetles bored beneath the bark of pine trees and introduced a fungus and larvae which weakened and then killed the trees.

[PA Engineer]

What is with the stink bugs this year????? We have been finding them all winter in our house! WTH did they come from? I’ve never had this before.

They are an invasive species (I think it was Chinese warfare) that actually began at dollar store in New Jersey.

Brown marmorated stink bug

Four years ago we re-roofed and sided (Western PA). Unfortunately after the tear down the mass migration began from east to west. There were literally thousands crawling around on the house wrap and roofing paper. Total disaster.

We bought 3 discount shop vacs for the workers to use.

Another point of entry is the spark arrestor on chimneys. The EPA has been told over and over again that smaller gap arrestors (larger lengthwise) are available to block the stink bugs. That still has gone nowhere.

We just use a dedicated B&D hand vacuum now. For the barn I use an attractant during the winter months. They want in so I help direct them. When it drops to subzero I experience a certain satisfaction. Just a minor vacuum job in the spring.

[Sequoyah101]

This is great news. The damage and waste done by these monsters is sickening.

[numberonepal]

Nature do have her ways.
- Grandma

[Hojczyk]

The Forest Service would not spray or cut diseased trees.. they just let it spread...and increased forest fire risks..

Private forest for the most part saved there timber

[minnesota_bound]

In the 1980’s there was Dutch Elm disease. We had 11 elm trees cut down in the back yard including 2 giant elms. I had a tree house in one, we hung a rope swing on one of it’s huge arms. You heard the sound of chainsaws up and down the block.

[Comment Not Approved]

For several years I was losing 30 to 40 trees a year to those damn beetles. Glad the have moved on.

[RedMonqey]

Might knock them back some but will not kill them off... they’ll be back.

True. But by this same standard, they wouldn't have killed every pine tree, as the GW panic mongers implied.

[RedMonqey]

"Glad they have moved on.”

For now(it's natural, after all)

[RedMonqey]

"killed off ticks too...”

GW Alarmist Headlines:
Armadillos and possums hurt worst!

[RedMonqey]

"For several years I was losing 30 to 40 trees a year to those damn beetles.”

Glad it helps you. Are you a northern forester?

[RedMonqey]

"This is great news. The damage and waste done by these monsters is sickening.”

Only in man's terms. Mother Nature wastes nothing. Just tips the scales to one species for the other.

[NorthMountain]

We have had multiple days of single-digit temperatures each of the last 3 winters in my part of WV. It hasn’t eliminated the stink bugs, but has seriously depleted their numbers.

[RedMonqey]

"Meanwhile, down here we had a very mild winter and I expect bugs to be bad this spring and summer”

Here in Tennessee I'm just a casual observer to this situation. But we're going to get LOTS of bugs in my home state due to the rain and, in my opinion, a sort of mild winter(so far)

[Rebelbase]

The wood stove runs most of the winter here and the little evil buggers hitchhike in on the firewood.

[RedMonqey]

"Too bad it didn’t work in Colorado.”

Colorado have a mild winter? Or did California Democrats bring in their pests with them?(grins)

[RedMonqey]

"My brother has lost several Georgia pines to the bug.”

Can I assume your brother is in this area(Minnesota, South and North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and Idaho)

We have pines trees in our mother's yard and they are doing great in Tennessee(Big tall trees that were saplings when we were kids)

[RedMonqey]

"Save the pine beetles! /s”

(Snicker, snicker) Why not. Eco-nuts wanted to "Save the Snail Darter", when TN. had a dam 80% build... and they stopped it from being finished!

[RedMonqey]

40 below would keep me outta N. Dakota.... or anywhere else.(btw, I’m not riffraff....IMHO)

[RedMonqey]

"Sure hope it killed these miserable stink bugs too .. loathsome little bastards.”

I'm not sure the cold kills stink bugs like one would like. Unless you let your house get frigid. They will be back. I know we've(TN) had them again and again

[Comment Not Approved]

Not a forester. Just a guy who owns Montana forestland.

We were told that the dead trees needed to be cut down and burned by July 15th, before the beetles fly off to infest another tree. I was spending all my chainsaw time trying to keep up with beetle kill instead of firewood gathering. I’m hell with chainsaws ... but I’m not getting any younger.

I prefer the Fir, Alder, Cottonwood and Aspen trees anyway over the Pine. But I hated to just burn up all those trees. The beetles are gone though. And none too soon. Unbelievable how fast they can kill off a stand of trees. Tough little bastards ... smaller than a grain of rice.