The County of Wetaskiwin will be selling Verbenone pouches through its' Agricultural Service Board. If you are interested in purchasing verbenone pouches at $10.00/pouch, the County will be accepting pre-paid orders until May 19, 2021. The distribution date will be June 14 for County residents and June 16 for non-residents. To pre-order your Verbenone pouches, please contact either Heather Dickau at 780-352-3321 or Stephen Majek at 780-361-6226.
Background:
The first mountain pine beetle infestation in the County of Wetaskiwin was discovered in the summer of 2018. County staff began scouting in 2019 and had 40 confirmed sites. In 2020, there were 5 additional sites identified however the attacks appeared to be from a previous year. Mike Undershultz, Forestry Officer for Alberta Agriculture and Forestry reported that there were very low reproduction numbers in the 2019/20 winter, therefore there was a small flight of beetles in 2020.
Alberta Ag and Forestry recommends that pine trees with over 40 pitch tubes be removed by chipping, peeling, or burning on site. Verbenone is a synthetic anti-aggregation pheromone that gives