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Pine forests may be saved from bark beetle using herbal tea
01/02/2009
The US Forest Service has found that a herbal tea containing a pheromone called verbenone can be used to help reduce the number of bark beetles attacking forests by two-thirds.
The pheromone is found in the husks of rosemary and walnuts and is often used in herbal teas. The beetles confuse the pheromone with one they produce when their trees become too crowded, sending a message to other beetles to choose another tree.
Scientists have been aware that verbenone causes beetles to disperse but have recently discovered that dropping flakes of herbal tea from helicopters reduces the number of beetles by two thirds.
This technique costs just $110 per acre and is a great alternative to tree thinning, as it can be used in areas where it is preferable to keep trees, such as campgrounds and ski resorts. Thinning also costs ten times as much as the tea dropping technique.
The use of verbenone is also preferable to the use of pesticides that kill other, valuable insects.
The bark beetles have infested millions of acres of forests in the US and Canada, with British Columbia alone seeing infestations across 23 million acres.
The pheromone is found in the husks of rosemary and walnuts and is often used in herbal teas. The beetles confuse the pheromone with one they produce when their trees become too crowded, sending a message to other beetles to choose another tree.
Scientists have been aware that verbenone causes beetles to disperse but have recently discovered that dropping flakes of herbal tea from helicopters reduces the number of beetles by two thirds.
This technique costs just $110 per acre and is a great alternative to tree thinning, as it can be used in areas where it is preferable to keep trees, such as campgrounds and ski resorts. Thinning also costs ten times as much as the tea dropping technique.
The use of verbenone is also preferable to the use of pesticides that kill other, valuable insects.
The bark beetles have infested millions of acres of forests in the US and Canada, with British Columbia alone seeing infestations across 23 million acres.
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