Exert from Government Website:

The mountain pine beetle is no longer a problem limited to British Columbia’s deepest back-country forests and wilderness areas. More and more infestations are turning up on private property, even in and around urban areas. Although not guaranteed to prevent the insect invaders from gaining ground, there are a number of small steps private landowners can take to help alleviate the potential for a beetle infestation on their property:

• Keep your trees healthy with fertilizer
• Irrigate your tree daily to aid in in the resistance of the beetle. The more moisture available to the tree, the more it will absorb and use in the pitch production in repelling the beetle
• Look for the mountain pine beetle. Early detection, during the July to September summer flight season, is key.
• Look for holes and dust created by the beetles drilling into the bark, pitch tubes, increased woodpecker activity, or discoloured needles.
• Peel away bark to expose larvae galleries and beetles.
• Especially important to check for the insect when hauling pine firewood.
• If infested, log the trees and either mill or debark them or you can spray them before the beetle flight season begins.
• The bark should be sprayed, burned, buried or submerged under water (where environmentally safe).
• Infested logs can also be buried under the ground until after the flight season, and then used.
• Fall and burn beetle-infested trees on site. Do this only in winter, to reduce the risk of starting forest fires. Remember to obtain all necessary burning permits.
• Spray trees (standing or fallen) from March till July ( there is a residual action on Sevin for up to two years in ideal conditions) with a two per cent solution of Sevin, a registered insecticide for topical treatment. Emerging beetles will die when they ingest the treated bark. Spray until the trunk is dripping. Follow label directions exactly.
• Landowners can only apply Sevin or other pesticides on private property, ( but must have applicators certificate to purchase Sevin or other chemicals), and not on public land.
• Cut down and buck the tree to manageable lengths so they can be wrapped in a clear, heavy-gauge plastic tarp. This approach relies on the solar heat generated inside the log package to keep beetle populations controlled and their survival rates reduced. Or use our services.
• Establish treatment by mid-spring at the latest.
• Align logs at a right angle to the sun and occasionally rotate the logs (the north aspect of the tree contains the highest density of beetles). Do not stack higher than two layers of logs.

It’s always a good idea to contact your local district or regional office to enquire about applications or permits required for performing these and other beetle management activities.

For more information on what you can do, visit these Government of BC links
Facts on the mountain pine beetle - (Government of BC website)