how many days of cold do we need to kill off the pine beetle larvae?
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It's been below zero, and the weather will likely dip down there a few more times this winter, but that won't freeze out western Montana's mountain pine beetle epidemic.
"The magic number is often 30 to 40 below zero," said Peter Kolb, Montana State University extension forester in Missoula. "The mountain pine beetle has adapted to survive down to around that temperature. When we get colder temperatures for prolonged periods of time, it does stress them. But we haven't reached the extreme cold that starts to kill bark beetles."
So December's deep freeze did little to the millions of beetle larvae burrowed beneath the bark of lodgepole and ponderosa pine trees across western Montana. Deep cold draws water out of living tissue, causing cell membranes to break and disintegrate. But the beetles produce chemicals similar to antifreeze, which help them retain their moisture levels.
It would take a week or more of 30-below weather to freeze mountain pine beetles, at which point they'd probably be the last thing on anyone's mind.
I have heard it needs to be at least -10 for up to 2 weeks straight. I also recently heard that they have adapted and are now moving on to Douglas fir and in some areas, Spruce as well. :faint:
I heard it was -30 required for several days. Hopefully at least this cold will slow the little buggers down anyway. This year I saw a Ponderosa pine on 285 Kenosha pass at the campgrounds that was definite beetle damage. Its headng this way unfortunately.
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