Signs and Symptoms

As the Mountain Pine beetle is so small it is important to look for evidence of it in your trees. The best time to look is during the summer flight season (July to early September). Look for holes and dust created by the beetles drilling into the bark, pitch tubes, increased woodpecker activity, or discoloured needles. Peel the bark away to look for larvae galleries and beetles. Always look for evidence of beetles in firewood. These holes are roughly the size of a matchhead. There are other very small holes in the bark of most trees. They pepper the tree and almost resemble pores. These are not pine beetle and have less impact on the tree.