Climb! Tree Services owner Jonathan Barfield examines ponderosa pines on Log Hill Mesa for signs of beetle infestation. Barfield, who is a certified arborist, recommends protecting pine trees from beetles using pheromones, specifically by applying a paste with an active anti-aggression pheromone that tells mountain pine beetles and other species of bark beetles that a tree is already taken, the beetle party’s over and they need to move on. “It’s like a chemical conversation,” Barfield said. Photo by Erin McIntyre | Ouray County Plaindealer
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Beetle Mania
Drought conditions prime for insect infestation in county, experts warn
In some parts of Ouray County it may look like popcorn grows on trees. The milky, honey-colored pocks on the trunks of ponderosa pines and other trees signal efforts to fend off their attackers: bark beetles that thrive in the intensifying drought conditions facing the state and region.
Bark beetles — such as mountain pine beetle species that attack ponderosa pines and others — are considered a normal, native piece of the ecosystem that help with diversity and nutrient recycling.
But booming p...
