Pine Beetles Are Putting Harris & Muscogee County Pine Trees at Risk

If you’ve noticed pine trees around Harris County, Georgia or Muscogee County, Georgia suddenly turning yellow, brown, or red, pine beetles could be the problem. These small insects can cause serious damage to pine trees, and once a tree is heavily infested, prompt removal may be the best way to protect your property and nearby pines.

Signs of Pine Beetle Damage

Pine beetles attack trees by boring through the bark and disrupting the tree’s ability to survive. Property owners should watch for:

• Pine needles changing from green to yellow, reddish-brown, or brown

• Small holes in the bark

• Small clumps or tubes of resin, sometimes called pitch tubes, on the trunk

• Sawdust-like material around the bark or base of the tree

• Loose or falling bark

• Several pine trees beginning to decline in the same area

Once a pine is severely damaged, it can become weak and brittle, increasing the danger of falling limbs or complete tree failure during the thunderstorms and high winds common in West Georgia.

How Are Pine Beetle-Infested Trees Removed?

When pine beetles are suspected, the first step is identifying the affected trees and inspecting nearby pines for signs of infestation. Trees that are actively infested, dead, or too badly damaged to recover may need to be removed.

Depending on the location, Fortson Tree Service can safely take the tree down in sections or remove it using professional tree-removal equipment. Extra care is especially important when damaged pines are close to homes, power lines, driveways, fences, or other structures.

Removal also involves properly addressing the infested material. Simply cutting down a beetle-infested pine and leaving the trunk and limbs piled beside healthy trees may not solve the problem. Infested material may need to be removed from the property, chipped, or otherwise handled appropriately to reduce the chance of beetles emerging and attacking additional trees.

How Big of an Area Should Be Removed?

There is not one universal radius—such as 50 or 100 feet—that should automatically be clear-cut around every beetle-infested pine. The right approach depends on the beetle species, how many trees are affected, and whether surrounding trees show signs of active infestation.

For southern pine beetle infestations, forestry professionals may recommend removing the actively infested trees along with a buffer of nearby apparently healthy pines to help stop an expanding infestation. This is sometimes called a cut-and-remove or cut-and-leave control method. The buffer is determined from the edge of the active infestation rather than simply removing every tree within an arbitrary radius.

That is why early inspection is important. If one pine is dying, the surrounding trees should also be checked. When several neighboring pines begin changing color or showing beetle activity, the infestation may already be spreading through the stand.

Don't Wait on a Dying Pine

Pine beetle problems can move quickly, and a dead pine can become a serious property hazard. The sooner affected trees are identified, the more options you may have for protecting the remaining trees.

At Fortson Tree Service, we provide professional pine tree inspection and removal throughout Harris County and Muscogee County, GA, including Columbus, Fortson, Cataula, Hamilton, Waverly Hall, and surrounding communities.

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Seeing brown or dying pine trees on your property?

Contact Fortson Tree Service today to have them evaluated and get an estimate for safe removal.