What actions should be avoided when attempting to protect trees?
Do not do anything that will introduce further stress to your trees. For instance, anytime a tree is damaged and must produce sap to cope with an injury, it has to expend precious moisture (in the form of sap). That weakens the tree and makes it that much more susceptible to beetle attack. Removing small or poorly competing trees from a stand can improve the vigor of the remaining trees. It is a mistake, however, to fail to deal with residual material from cutting trees (any parts of the tree that have a 3 inch or larger diameter, such as the boles and limbs). Untreated material left on the site is actually an attractant to additional beetles. If beetles breed in the residual material, they represent yet another source of new beetles to attack the remaining trees. Because feeding by the non-lethal bark moth or pitch nodule moth can resemble bark beetle attack, do not cut down trees before confirming bark beetle presence.
