Current and proposed technologies for bark beetle management

Behavioral chemicals that disrupt mating and host tree selection are reduci ng losses to bark beetles. In the Pacific Northwest, thinning and selection of appropriate species have been the preferred management options, but phe romones-both attractants and antiaggregants-show promise. In the South, whe re single-species stands are especially vulnerable, inhibitory compounds an d visual disruption may deter bark beetles from selecting valuable trees as hosts. In the Southwest, managers are combining slash management and thinn ing with semiochemicals and biological controls.