Photo Courtesy, City of Prince George.

By Veronica Beltran

protecting trees

Spruce beetle protection pinned onto trees

May 15, 2020 | 11:47 AM

PRINCE GEORGE– While you are out and about this long weekend enjoying nature at one of Prince George’s parks, you may notice small, brown, bubble pouches on the sides of trees–don’t worry, they’re not disturbing nature, they’re helping it.

The small plastic membranes contain a pheromone to help protect the tree from spruce beetles.

This year, the City of Prince George and the Province are collaborating in an effort to protect trees in the city due to increasing numbers of spruce beetles.

According to the province, as of 2019, close to 503,779 hectares of forest across the province has been impacted by spruce beetle.

B.C.’s Omineca Region saw just over 354,000 hectares of forest impacted by spruce beetles in 2019, a higher number than normal according to the province.

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City of Prince George staff are using the pheromone called MCH, naturally produced by beetles, to let other beetles know that the tagged tree is “occupied,” tricking the beetles into leaving the healthy tree alone.

Once attatched to a tree, the MCH diffuses into the surrounding area, much like it would if the tree was occupied by spruce beetles.

The pouches have been attatched to trees at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park, Connaught Hill Park, Rainbow Park, Memorial Park Cemetery, and to the blue spruce trees found near Hwy.16 and 97.

Residents looking to find additional information on how to protect their trees from spruce beetle can find more information here.