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Time is quickly running out to cut down and destroy trees that are infected with pine wilt.
With spring coming it won’t be long until the beetles that help spread the disease will be moving to new trees and infecting them.
“I’m suggesting get them out by March 15 if at all possible and by April 1 at the latest,” said Mark Eckhoff, Pratt Parks Superintendent.
Trees with pine wilt cannot be used for fire wood because the beetles will come out of the wood while it is the stack and head for the nearest pine tree, Eckhoff said.
Trees with pine wilt need to be burned or ground up in a grinder to destroy the beetles and prevent them from spreading the disease.
“What we’re shooting for is to stop the bugs from emerging,” Eckhoff said. “We should be able to slow this thing way down.”
It is vital that the trees are taken down and burned before the beetles get active again. At one residence in the county, one pine tree had the disease but was not removed in timely manner. A year later the owner had lost 25 trees to the disease.
Once the tree is gone, the stump needs to be ground up as well to help prevent the disease from spreading. The stumps can be burned as well. Put a bag of charcoal around the stump and let it burn and it should take care of any leftover beetles.
The beetles don’t actually kill the tree but they do carry a type of nematode that is the problem. The beetle bores into the tree and then the nematodes eat the cadmium layer under the bark. Cadmium carries water for the tree and the nematodes destroy the cadmium. It cuts off the water supply to the tree and it dies, Eckhoff said.
Pine trees with pine wilt will burn to the ends of the branches. If the branch is not broken, the tree probably has pine wilt and needs to be taken down and burned.
If the branch is broken and the end is brown it may not have the disease. If the end of the branch is still green, the tree is probably OK.
The speed the disease takes the tree depends when the beetle invades the tree. If the infestation happens in the fall, it takes several months and may not start showing up until late winter or early spring.
Time is quickly running out to cut down and destroy trees that are infected with pine wilt.
With spring coming it won’t be long until the beetles that help spread the disease will be moving to new trees and infecting them.
“I’m suggesting get them out by March 15 if at all possible and by April 1 at the latest,” said Mark Eckhoff, Pratt Parks Superintendent.
Trees with pine wilt cannot be used for fire wood because the beetles will come out of the wood while it is the stack and head for the nearest pine tree, Eckhoff said.
Trees with pine wilt need to be burned or ground up in a grinder to destroy the beetles and prevent them from spreading the disease.
“What we’re shooting for is to stop the bugs from emerging,” Eckhoff said. “We should be able to slow this thing way down.”
It is vital that the trees are taken down and burned before the beetles get active again. At one residence in the county, one pine tree had the disease but was not removed in timely manner. A year later the owner had lost 25 trees to the disease.
Once the tree is gone, the stump needs to be ground up as well to help prevent the disease from spreading. The stumps can be burned as well. Put a bag of charcoal around the stump and let it burn and it should take care of any leftover beetles.
The beetles don’t actually kill the tree but they do carry a type of nematode that is the problem. The beetle bores into the tree and then the nematodes eat the cadmium layer under the bark. Cadmium carries water for the tree and the nematodes destroy the cadmium. It cuts off the water supply to the tree and it dies, Eckhoff said.
Pine trees with pine wilt will burn to the ends of the branches. If the branch is not broken, the tree probably has pine wilt and needs to be taken down and burned.
If the branch is broken and the end is brown it may not have the disease. If the end of the branch is still green, the tree is probably OK.
The speed the disease takes the tree depends when the beetle invades the tree. If the infestation happens in the fall, it takes several months and may not start showing up until late winter or early spring.
If the infestation happens in spring or summer, the disease will take over very quickly, Eckhoff said.
If a tree owner is uncertain if the tree has pine wilt, contact Eckhoff at 672- 6882 and he will come and evaluate the tree.
Eckhoff said he has gotten pretty good response to his efforts. He keeps track of diseased trees in the city. When he sees one on someone property, he notifies the person about the problem.
“We’ve had pretty good cooperation with taking the trees out,” Eckhoff said.
The majority of the diseased trees are in the west and southern half of the town.
If the tree owner has no place to burn the tree, also contact Eckhoff and he will help arrange for the tree to go to a burn pile in the former city land fill just west of Pratt on First Street. The entrance is locked so Eckhoff needs to be contacted to unlock the gate.
Trees can also be taken to the Pratt County Land Fill and they will burn them there.
Eckhoff has seen many trees along Lake Road and south of town. The trees along the north side of Green Lawn Cemetery and by Walnut Grove apartments are also showing signs of infection.
The city parks are going to be hit very hard. The parks have over 500 pine trees and 40 have already died and had to be removed.
The most vulnerable pines are the Scotts pine and Austrian pine. A hand full of Ponderosa pines has also been affected. The mugo pine shrub is also showing sins of the disease.
No spray has proven effective for this disease. An expensive injection, about $200 a year, has helped a little but not much so anyone using that option will probably be wasting their money.
