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Southern Pine Beetles active across multiple Georgia Counties

The Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC) is surveying the state for indications of southern pine beetle (SPB) activity. The insects, which attack and kill all species of loblolly pine trees, have been observed in several counties in west-central Georgia.

According to GFC Forest Health Coordinator Paul McDaniel, the agency had conducted its aerial surveys approximately 80% of the state as of Sept. 10. Overall, the surveys have revealed 1,596 infestations. The heaviest concentrations were in Bartow, Carroll, Paulding and Coweta counties, each with more than 100 affected areas.  Cherokee, Polk, Haralson, Douglas and Heard counties each had more than 50 observed areas with beetle infestations.

Traps hung in 50 locations statewide this spring indicated five counties in Georgia’s Piedmont area have a high probability of SPB including Greene, Jasper, Jones, and Oglethorpe counties with Putnam County having the greatest possibility of SPB spots, GFC Forest Health specialists reported in May. There has been SPB activity in those counties, including 29 infestations in Jasper County and 34 in Jones County.  

“As the aerial survey data is coming in our foresters are hard at work conducting ground checks to verify the cause, and then we’ll notify the affected landowner by mail,” McDaniel said.

According to information published on the GFC website, the southern pine beetle lays its eggs beneath the bark of pine trees and destroy conductive tissue that transport food throughout the tree. The beetles also carry blue stain fungi on their bodies, and the fungi can clog the tree’s conductive tissue.

McDaniel said loblolly pines, which include a number of pine varieties, are the southern pine beetle’s preferred host trees.

“Loblolly is our, one of our most common timber species in the southeast and southern pine beetle is the is the most destructive native forest pests that we have in the southeast,” McDaniel said.

As the beetles bore into the tree, the tree’s natural defense is to expel them by pushing out sap in pitch tubes  (whitened lumps of sap) protruding from the outside bark.

Needles on trees infested with the beetles change in color and generally follow a chronological progression, from brown (trees that have been killed by the beetles), followed by red, yellow, light green and then healthy green.

The beetles’ progression can be stopped by cutting down trees around the perimeter of the infested area in such a way that the trees fall toward the center of the infested area. Then a ring of healthy trees around the infested area are cut in the same way, creating a buffer zone between infested and healthy trees.

According to the GFC, southern pine beetles have killed more than $254 million worth of pine trees in Georgia since 1972. Pine trees are particularly vulnerable when they are stressed by weather conditions, including drought, flooding, storm damage and lightning strikes, as well as road building or logging activities.

Prevention strategies include non-commercial thinning, eliminating competing tree species and prescribed burns.

The GFC, in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service, participates in the Southern Pine Beetle Prediction Trapping and Aerial Survey, as well as well as the restoration cost share program. The trapping program includes deployment of pheromone traps across the state, while the cost share program is available to landowners who want to reduce their risk of infestation  or need help with restoration of trees killed by the beetles.

For more information about the southern pine beetle, visit https://gatrees.org/southern-pine-beetles/. Reach out to your local forester with questions or to get help identifying SPB activity here: https://gatrees.org/gfc-contacts/county-contacts/.

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