Need advice on BIG pine with bark beetles

[Winchman]

It's about seventy-five feet tall with a 37"dbh. There's no obvious infestation on the lower part of the tree, but one large limb in the canopy was already dead, and several others are still alive with the classic signs of infestation.

I removed the outer part of the dead limb with my 12" Kobalt battery saw. There was a little collateral damage, but that was expected.

Then I rigged a speed line to a fence post driven 18" into the ground to get the get the remainder down.

You can see the fresh cut in this picture. The trunk at that height is about 20" in diameter

And here's the butt end with the signs of pbb infestation.


The tree has a five degree lean to the left toward a neighbor's shed and power line. There's another power line on the near side, and there's a metal building behind and to the right. Even if I could overcome the lean, there's no place to fell the tree in one piece without major problems.

I think it's pretty obvious the tree is going to die slowly over the next couple years if I don't do anything. Is there any way to save it at this point? Should I just whittle away at it as the limbs die?

 

[evo]

The answer lies in the value of the tree and trees on the property..
Options include immediate removal (before the larvae pupate and fly) or wait and leave it to act as a bait tree after the bugs seek out a egg laying over winter spot then remove taking the maximum number of bugs with the tree..

pesticides…

cultural control = do everything you can to keep tree healthy and happy

retain and hack off spots here and there with large wounds that will attract more bugs and decay eventually causing the need for removal

do nothing (always in the deck of cards)
any combination

 

[Winchman]

I talked to a fellow from the power company last week, and he said he'd take the tree down at no cost, but it would be four to five weeks before he could do it. Great!!

I was awakened from my nap yesterday by what sounded like someone repeatedly slamming a car door. I went outside and saw the power company bucket truck with the fellow cutting limbs with a hydraulic polesaw. Turns out the recent rains had made their other worksites impassable, so they came here instead. They'll be back today to finish taking the tree down.

Unfortunately, they won't do any cleanup, so I'm going to be pretty busy for a while doing some myself and arranging for someone to do what I can't handle. I've already cleaned up what they dropped on the neighbor's property, but that hardly made a dent in the project.

 

[Winchman]

Some pics of the removal:

Early on day 2

They were having trouble cutting and dropping chunks from the bucket...

so they just felled it.

 

[evo]

To be safe debark the wood, and or cover with black plastic

 

[Winchman]

I've already made arrangements with the local solid waste service to have the first load (maybe two loads) picked up this Friday. Once that's out of the way, it'll be easy enough to get the rest cleaned up and ready for pickup next Friday. They have a pretty good sized grapple truck.

The power company guys dropped a lot of heavy stuff on top of some of the light stuff that needs to be cut into shorter pieces. The pickup crew won't take anything longer than six feet. I'm busy untangling and cutting up what I can for the first loads.

Here's what it looked like as of yesterday evening.


Fortunately the PC crew cut the piece on top of the stump just a couple inches off the ground after felling the trunk. I think I made a pretty good dent in the cleanup, especially with the eight-year-old from next door keeping me company and asking questions. He's a delightful child, and a lot of fun to have around. He likes bugs, too.

 

[Winchman]

The pickup crew arrived this afternoon with two trucks, and went to work.

There's still some work to do, but I sure was glad to see those two truckloads gone.

My wife and decided it would be best to just whack the damaged shrubs off, level it out, and see what happens.

All-in cost was $120.10 and several hours work. Can't complain about that.

 

[Jehinten]

The pickup crew arrived this afternoon with two trucks, and went to work.
View attachment 78034
There's still some work to do, but I sure was glad to see those two truckloads gone.
View attachment 78035
My wife and decided it would be best to just whack the damaged shrubs off, level it out, and see what happens.

All-in cost was $120.10 and several hours work. Can't complain about that.

Just curious, are you saying all of that was hauled off in two loads, brush and logs?

I've been looking at those trucks without any measure of how much debris will actually fit in a load. Everyone around here either chips or hand loads trailers.

 

[Winchman]

Yes, I was really surprised. They put the soft stuff on the bottom, and smashed it down with the big pieces. You should see the ruts in the yard.