Current and Proposed Technologies for Bark Beetle Management

Abstract

Abstract Behavioral chemicals that disrupt mating and host tree selection are reducing losses to bark beetles. In the Pacific Northwest, thinning and selection of appropriate species have been the preferred management options, but pheromones--both attractants and antiaggregants--show promise. In the South, where single-species stands are especially vulnerable, inhibitory compounds and visual disruption may deter bark beetles from selecting valuable trees as hosts. In the Southwest, managers are combining slash management and thinning with semiochemicals and biological controls.