Ambrosia beetle infestation removal.

F

Farstrider79

Location
Charlotte
Is there any magic to proper time of year to remove a tree that has a heavy Ambrosia beetle infestation? For example, since it is late summer here in Charlotte will cutting a tree down now with an infestation stir those bugs up and give them a chance to infest other trees since there is still some warm weather for them to move about?
Since the infestation is current and the tree is a loss, would it be better to wait till fall or winter when the beetles are dormant and would die to exposure if they fell out of the tree or should I proactively treat neighboring trees and the duff in the area with insecticide/termiticide and just get it over with?
Thoughts?
 
If you're talking about laurel wilt, sooner the tree is removed, the better, and all the wood should be chipped or taken straight to an incinerator, as neither the beetle Xyleborus glabratus, nor their symbiotic fungi Raffaelea lauricola seem to survive chipping. You don't want to leave intact wood lying around.
 
Farstrider79 said:
Is there any magic to proper time of year to remove a tree that has a heavy Ambrosia beetle infestation? For example, since it is late summer here in Charlotte will cutting a tree down now with an infestation stir those bugs up and give them a chance to infest other trees since there is still some warm weather for them to move about?
Since the infestation is current and the tree is a loss, would it be better to wait till fall or winter when the beetles are dormant and would die to exposure if they fell out of the tree or should I proactively treat neighboring trees and the duff in the area with insecticide/termiticide and just get it over with?
Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Ambrosia and other bark beetles are generally attracted to stressed, dying, and in some cases, dead trees. I believe there can be several generations throughout the growing season as well. If there are stressed trees nearby you could treat with a borer rate of a pyrethroid but not many folks like spraying such a strong rate all over hell and tarnation. First and foremost, I would focus on WHY these critters are in the area and on what species and go from there.
 
Timing would matter if a person were trying to save the wood for firewood.

There is a line of thinking out there to tarp wood with a black tarp in the heat of the year. It raises temp too high for them to do their life cycle and even to live themselves. Not my first preference as I have seen it fail and then what are called Ambrosia Beetles in my area jump to other dimensional lumber near the pile - like your house or barn.

I just threw away a cord or more of split oak this spring because I inadvertently brought them home to my wood pile.
 
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