Is turpentine-infection wood ok to burn or build with? - Ask Extension
My huge scots pine is dying of a turpentine beetle infestation. When we take the tree out, what can/should/must we do with the cut wood? - We can use ...
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Is turpentine-infection wood ok to burn or build with? #859861
Asked February 25, 2024, 5:58 PM EST
My huge scots pine is dying of a turpentine beetle infestation. When we take the tree out, what can/should/must we do with the cut wood?
- We can use it for anything we want?
- We can not burn or keep any of it--it infects other plants, possibly? Therefore, it must all be ground up?
- We can keep some of the wood for____________________?
-Must we grind the stump to ensure all the beetles are gone?
Thanks
Larimer County Colorado
Expert Response
Hello,
This is not really a home horticulture question, so you might ask the Colorado State Forest Service for additional insight. We don't generally have turpentine beetles in urban areas. But it is a stress pest, generally from drought, so one thing you can do to protect other trees on your property is try to water them and keep them from getting drought stressed. Scotch pine is a non-native pine, so it's adapted to our climate, but still may not be able to tolerate the fluctuating moisture levels we receive.
In general, when trees are killed from bark beetles, it's recommended that you chip the trees. If this is not feasible, then remove the bark from the trees. This will destroy most/all of the beetles and larvae. You can then cut the wood into pieces and use it as needed. Because the wood was affected by beetles, I don't know how sturdy it would be for building - you will want to ask a wood specialist.
If you want to hold the wood on your property, then you should plan on covering the firewood with plastic tarps for one season - this will help solarize/kill additional emerging beetles from the wood.
You shouldn't need to stump-grind if the majority of the tree has been removed.
This publication from Cal Poly might be helpful: https://ufei.calpoly.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/treenote3_BarkBeetleControl_FirewoodHarvestResidue.pdf
Contact information for the Colorado State Forest Service: https://csfs.colostate.edu/fort-collins/
This is not really a home horticulture question, so you might ask the Colorado State Forest Service for additional insight. We don't generally have turpentine beetles in urban areas. But it is a stress pest, generally from drought, so one thing you can do to protect other trees on your property is try to water them and keep them from getting drought stressed. Scotch pine is a non-native pine, so it's adapted to our climate, but still may not be able to tolerate the fluctuating moisture levels we receive.
In general, when trees are killed from bark beetles, it's recommended that you chip the trees. If this is not feasible, then remove the bark from the trees. This will destroy most/all of the beetles and larvae. You can then cut the wood into pieces and use it as needed. Because the wood was affected by beetles, I don't know how sturdy it would be for building - you will want to ask a wood specialist.
If you want to hold the wood on your property, then you should plan on covering the firewood with plastic tarps for one season - this will help solarize/kill additional emerging beetles from the wood.
You shouldn't need to stump-grind if the majority of the tree has been removed.
This publication from Cal Poly might be helpful: https://ufei.calpoly.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/treenote3_BarkBeetleControl_FirewoodHarvestResidue.pdf
Contact information for the Colorado State Forest Service: https://csfs.colostate.edu/fort-collins/
