The most common and damaging tree pest is the “bark beetle” and these pests are "specie specific" .   The term "bark beetle" is a generic description of a number of insects that attack and kill certain trees in a specific manner.  Each specie of “bark beetle” will only be attracted to a specific specie of trees.   That means the bark beetle that attacks Ponderosa pine will not attack Pinion pine. The bark beetle that attacks White Fir does not attack Ponderosa pine. Trees in Ruidoso are being affected by the IPS, Dendroctenous, and Scolytus genus of bark beetle.  Trees affected are Ponderosa Pine, Pinion pine, White fir, and possibly Douglas fir.   Infested trees will quickly turn brown and die, usually from the top down.  Call Forestry at 505-257-5544 with questions.

These bugs are generally active from early March to mid November. They may produce up to three generations per summer. The bugs select a target tree by sensing a pheromone or smell that the tree produces when it becomes stressed due to lack of water. Trees become beetle habitat.  This habitat is also produced when cut material, greater than 3 inches in diameter, is left lying on the ground. Village ordinance 54-133 requires green wood kept for firewood be stacked in ½ cord piles (4’x4’x4’) and covered with 6 millimeter thick clear/translucent plastic for a period of ten months. This process will kill any eggs, larva or adults in the wood and keep new bugs from entering.  Once the wood is "cured" it is no longer habitat.  All other forest debris must be brought to curbside for Village Solid Waste pickup.

In a healthy forest, a tree utilizes water in four basic priorities.  They are: 1 - transpiration and photosynthesis; 2 - growth of needles and trunk; 3 - production of cones for propagation; and 4 - production of extra sap for defense from invasion.  This 4th priority can produce extra sap (water available) which it uses to “pitch out" an invading bug. This is the tree’s first line of defense. Currently, in our overcrowded forests and exasperated by an extended drought, trees can not produce that first line of defense but without enough water to produce the sap, the bugs win.

Trees turn brown quickly and die. The beetle disrupts the “plumbing” of the tree by eating the cambium layer just inside the bark. In the summer, these bugs can bore into a tree, lay eggs, produce offspring and exit tree in as little as six weeks.   There is no saving a tree once infested.  The chemical Carbaryl (see your hardware store for products containing a Carbaryl) has limited application for PREVENTATIVE treatments on trees not yet browning.  Trees have to be sprayed top to bottom (covering all material 3 inches or greater) to be effective.  There is no effective systemic treatment.  This means there is nothing to apply to the soil or inject into the tree that has shown good results.  Watering your trees during March and as often as conditions allow is a short term solution.  The long term solution is to properly thin trees so as to avail retained trees more available water.

The most common tree pathogen in the Ruidoso area is Dwarf Mistletoe. This is another “specie specific” situation. In Ruidoso, Ponderosa pine and to a lesser degree Douglas fir trees are the target species. Trees can live with mistletoe for many years depending on the age of the tree when first infected. However, trees with diameters of 6” or less and Dwarf Mistletoe (orange fruiting body) apparent on the trunk should be removed. This pathogen spreads by shooting a sticky seed up to 40 feet and attaches to another target tree.

Please see photos and descriptions below. Click on the photo to enlarge.

Bark Beetle on Pine 1	Bark Beetle on Pine 2	Bark Beetle Damage	Beetle Frasp on Ponderosa Pine
Dwarf Mistletoe on Ponderosa Pine	Dwarf Mistletoe causing Branch Deformation on Douglas Fir	Dwarf Mistletoe Fruiting Bodies	Dwarf Mistletoe on Douglas Fir
Exit hole in pitch pocket in Ponderosa Pine	Green firewood covered for Bark Beetle Habitat Reduction	True Mistletoe on Juniper 1	True Mistletoe on Juniper 2