The bark beetle (Scolytinae) belongs to the subfamily of beetles, the Weevil family. In total, there are 750 species of bark beetles, with 140 of them belonging to the European fauna. The size of such a beetle can vary from 8 to 15 mm. For a summer cottage, the bark beetle is a very dangerous pest that can destroy trees of any age, as well as severely damage wooden buildings. The recent climate change has caused the mass reproduction of the bark beetle.
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Features of the bark beetle
The bark beetle was named so because it is under the bark for a significant part of its life. In males of such a beetle, the head is concave, while in females it is sharply convex. There are tubercles and denticles on the dorsum of beetles. The elongated quadrangular back of the beetle is almost spherical. Scales or stripes are densely located on the surface of the elytra. In adult beetles, the body is brown, and the head is almost black. The worm-like legless larva of the bark beetle has a whitish color. Some species live mainly in cut trees, other species prefer to settle only on living plants. However, there are species that are able to live even on a sawn tree, even on a living tree.
In a tree, each species of such a beetle makes a certain form of passage, along which it is possible to find out which bark beetles have settled on the plant. Females gnaw through the bark and make passages in the tissues of the tree, in which they arrange egg-laying. After some time, larvae appear from the eggs, which feed on both plant tissues and its sap, this leads to the destruction of the tree from the inside. The grown larvae pupate and spend the winter inside the plant. And with the onset of spring, adults already fly out and try to find a mate for themselves.
How to understand that a tree is affected by a bark beetle?
Very often the bark beetle settles not on healthy trees, but on weakened and diseased ones. The fact is that thanks to his unsurpassed sense of smell, he is able to determine which tree is sick or weakened. In the garden, such a beetle can settle on fruit trees, on the surface of the bark of which there are cracks or wounds on the trunk and branches, as well as on seedlings recently planted in a new place. Also, this beetle can harm trees, the root system of which is severely injured.
You can understand that a bark beetle has settled on a plant by the small holes in the bark, while resinous traces can be found on conifers, and gum drips on fruit trees.Plants that attract woodpeckers deserve special attention, because this pest is most often found in them.
Examine the barrel surface carefully. If you find drill flour (small sawdust) on it and at its foot, then this is a sure sign of the presence of a bark beetle. If the color of the flour is brown, then this means that the beetle has gnawed only the bark, and if it is white, then it has reached the wood. At the last stage of infection, the crown of the tree dries up, and its leaves or needles fly around. The tree from which the bark falls off in pieces is dead.
How to get rid of the bark beetle
As soon as you find the first symptoms of damage to the plant by the bark beetle, you need to start taking action. It is necessary to deal with the pest in a comprehensive manner: do not forget about the agrotechnical rules of both ornamental and fruit trees, take proper care of them and systematically carry out preventive spraying that strengthens the immunity and health of plants.
In order to timely identify the first pests, the garden must be systematically inspected. The pest penetration points found on the plant are cleaned from the bark with a scraper. This is necessary in order to understand how deep the beetle has penetrated, and also so that you can get to its passages and larvae. Then treat the plant with a special protective agent that penetrates deep into the wood and corrodes the pest. For this, an injection method is used. Take a syringe filled with Antishelin, Empire-20, Confidor or Calypso, and then inject it into each of the moves that the bark beetle made. The entrances must be covered with garden pitch. This method of administration of the drug allows to extend its effectiveness up to 1 year.
If, to fight the beetle, you use insecticidal agents (best of all, Bifenthrin), which must be applied to the surface of the bark, then the treatments are carried out systematically, because after a while the agent applied to the surface of the bark becomes ineffective. These treatments are needed so that when the pupa gets out of its cocoon in the spring and tries to get to the surface of the plant, it will die from the action of the drug. In order for the solution of the agent to "stick" to the bark during processing, and not to drain to the ground, it is mixed with a small amount of household or potash soap crushed on a grater. Remember that you should not get too carried away with treating trees with chemicals, especially if there are not very many pests.
You can also try to destroy the bark beetle mechanically. To do this, take a strong metal wire and run it along the path that the pest has done. However, if there are a lot of holes on the affected plant, its foot is covered with drill flour, which resembles coffee grounds in color, and the bark is flying around in pieces, then this tree is already dead. It should be cut down and destroyed as soon as possible, which will protect neighboring trees from being hit by a beetle.
Effective drugs
All means used in the fight against this pest are divided into biological and chemical. The following biological agents are most effective:
- Bifenthrin... Acaricidal, pesticidal and insecticidal agent of intestinal action. Pyrethroid, which has repellent properties, actively fights the beetle at any stage of development.
- Krona-Antip... It is a biologically active agent based on nematodes, with which you can get rid of woodworms, bark beetles and sapwood.
- Clipper... This is a unique insect-acaricidal agent of contact-intestinal action, developed specifically to combat stem pests of various trees.
- Bi-58... Such an insectoacaricidal preparation of a wide spectrum of action, designed to combat various harmful insects, is distinguished by its reliability and high efficiency.
The most effective insecticides used to kill bark beetles:
- Calypso... Such a systemic insecticidal agent of contact-intestinal action is used to combat most pests of garden and horticultural crops.
- Antishashelin... This highly effective agent is used to control woodworms and their larvae. It should be introduced into the moves that the pests have made.
- Empire 20... This insecticidal agent is used in the fight against flightless pests. It is distinguished by its high efficiency and absolute harmlessness to humans.
- Confidor... This insecticidal preparation of prolonged contact and systemic action is used in the fight against many pests. The product is low-toxic to humans.
Folk remedies
Folk remedies in the fight against the bark beetle are often ineffective. As a rule, experienced gardeners use them as a preventive measure to scare off the pest. The main task of such funds is to protect, as well as to treat cracks, frosts, cuts, cuts and other damage, thanks to which the bark beetle can easily get into the plant. When a wound is found on a tree, it is cleaned, disinfected, and then covered with garden varnish, which can be done using one of the recipes:
- In a container over low heat, you need to melt the paraffin (6 parts), then pour the crushed rosin (3 parts) into it and bring the mass to a boil with constant stirring. Then vegetable or mineral oil (2 parts) is poured into it and the mixture is allowed to boil for 10 minutes.
- Pour a kilogram of crushed rosin into a container and melt it, after which 230 grams of drying oil is added to it. The resulting mixture is poured into a container with molten paraffin (5 kilograms) and everything is mixed well. Var for storage is removed in a warm place.
- They put 50 grams of rosin and wax into the container, and pour 200 grams of sunflower oil, put the mixture on fire. When the components melt, the mass is thoroughly mixed and poured into jars, which are closed with lids.
In order to prevent the appearance of pests, the surface of the trunk of the plant, as well as the base of the skeletal branches, are coated with a composition consisting of humus and clay. Also, in order to prevent the appearance of beetles, gardeners often use trap logs. In the spring on the site in several places you need to put a piece of log (chock). During the summer, bark beetles can settle in them and lay their eggs there, from which larvae soon appear. With the onset of the autumn period, the chocks should be burned.
Preventive measures
In order to protect your garden from the bark beetle, you must not forget about preventive measures:
- Inspect trees systematically to help you find pests that have settled in a timely manner.
- Do not forget about the agrotechnical rules of horticultural crops, namely, to properly water, feed, cut, tie, etc.
- Carry out sanitary and hygienic measures in a timely manner: cut off branches that are dead and affected by disease or frost, since beetles can settle on them. You also need to clean the bark in time, disinfect and cover up frosts and wounds, every year whitewash the stem and the base of the skeletal branches with lime, clean the area of fallen leaves, and dig the earth in the near-trunk circle.
- Regularly treat plants with organic means, namely: coat the trunks with manure mixed with slaked lime, or a mixture of humus and clay.
- Installation of bait logs on the site (see above).
- Attracting black woodpeckers to the site, which are natural enemies of these pests.
- The systematic use of complex products that are capable of exterminating several types of pests that harm trees.
Remember that getting rid of the bark beetle is very difficult, and sometimes the pest wins in this exhausting and long struggle.Therefore, do not neglect preventive measures and do not forget to regularly inspect the garden.
