We live on 3.5 acres in a part of Larimer County Colorado that has been badly affected by pine beetle kill during 2007-2008-2009-2010.

 

Last year (2008) we had 3 trees obviously attacked by mountain pine beetles.  They were cut down, bucked, and covered in plastic for solar sterilizing.  Two others were questionable but left standing. That was a mistake made through our inexperience.

 

The the 11 acres directly adjacent to ours were loaded with beetle trees (Many of the images on this site were actually photographed on that heavily-invested property).  The 15 acres adjacent to that are also heavily infested.

 

We protected our common border of the properties with verbeonone pouches every 20 - 25 feet. We also protected the border of our property and the Rocky Mountain National Park with a perimeter application of verbenone pouches. Selected "high-value" trees near the cabin were also selected for pouch-application.

 

2009: While the 26 acres adjacent and further down the hill continue to deteriorate, the 3.5 acres protected by verbenone had only one new tree infested with pine beetles. (The two previously-questionable trees were dead, and the third tree in the trio-stand was newly infested - showing pitch-outs. We should have cut them last year. The stand had no verbenone pouches, as it was isolated and not considered valuable. They were ALL cut down and  taken to the county burner for disposal.)

 

The same protection applied in 2008 was applied again in early June 2009.  No signs of any infestation were apparent in October 2009 (Trees newly attacked usually show pitch tubes by this time).

 

June 2010:  The attacked trees on the 11 untreated acres next to us continue to multiply. Nine more majestic, huge lodgepoles near the cabin are newly infested. We don't walk the rest of the 11 acres, so don't know how many are in the woods away from the home site. Nothing to be done, as the owners of the property have no interest.

 

On our Verbenone-protected property, only one tree was found to have pitch tubes - in the center of the property.  Two trees affected by ips beetles.  All three were cut and burned.  We have applied Verbenone again this year.  More updates next summer.

 

June 2011: No new pine beetle trees on our protected property. 5 new trees 500 yards up the road on untreated property.