Verbenone Pouches
2.5 acres of healthy trees absorbs the
co2 produced by 5 vehicles over a year.
Verbenone Pouches
Rocky mountain forests remain at risk from pine beetles, which have destroyed huge swaths of forests from British Columbia to North Dakota.
A Verbenone pouch is an easy-to-use, controlled-release packet that is hung on selected pine trees to protect individual trees or acreage from the damage caused by mountain pine beetles and other western and southern pine beetles.
Each pouch contains 7 grams of verbenone, a synthesized beetle pheromone, that repels beetles. The packet contains a small "sponge" that is saturated with the verbenone repellent but slowly releases it into the air through a porous wrapping.
Lodgepole Pine, White Pine, Ponderosa Pine, and Limber Pine are the most common, trees attacked, although several other species are at risk. Given the choice, Mountain Pine Beetles choose the largest diameter trees. When those are gone, they will attack smaller trees.
They also love damaged trees. If you have trees in a construction site or damaged by heavy equipment, the beetles will sense their distress and attack them because they are less able to produce healthy pitch to protect themselves. The same holds true for draught-damaged trees.
Verbenone Pouch Directions for Use
Nail or staple one pouch to the North (windward) side of the tree.
Pouches release their scented contents more quickly as temperatures rise, and they are affected by sunlight. Beetles prefer dark, cool parts of the forest. Thus, place pouches approx 6-10' high on the north face of the tree (where there is more shade) and downwind of prevailing breezes so that the "plume" of pheromone will waft in the direction of the trees being protected.
Do not put the nail or tack through the center of the packet, as this will damage the integrity of the pouch, causing it to release its contents too quickly. There is a strip at the top of each pouch that is reinforced and provided for the nail to puncture.