We have a certified Arborist that can look at your trees for disease, rot, beetle damage and over all health. We will do our best to save trees and sometimes we can just remove branches to help or prolong the life of your tree. Some areas of your property may just need thinning to allow the remaining trees to have enough moisture and nutrients to grow and be strong. We will access your stand density based on tree species and only remove what is necessary to accomplish the goals of the cutting project. At your free consultation regarding your needs, we will discuss with you options for your trees and can determine if you need the services of our Arborist.
Anyone that has gone into the mountains around Colorado has seen the widespread damage of the Mountain Pine Beetle. The Mountain Pine Beetle has attacked and killed the stands of Lodge Pole trees all over Colorado. The trees do not stand a chance against the swarm of beetles that descends on the trees. These beetles are moving east to the front range of Colorado. Some foresters were hoping the Mountain Pine Beetle would not jump tree species to the Ponderosa Pine of the front range. Please take a look at this article and you will see that the Mountain Pine Beetle has already spread from Lodgepole to Ponderosa Pines, (Ponderosa Pines are our predominate tree on the front range of Colorado).
MPB Epidemic Spread from Lodgepole to Ponderosa Pine along the Front Range. The Mountain Pine Beetle is attracted to weakened trees. Trees can be weakened by overcrowding, disease, and parasites such as Dwarf Mistletoe. A healthy tree can drown a pine beetle in its pitch. Please note that a healthy tree does not have enough pitch to withstand the swarms of pine beetles that are hitting our trees. The pine beetles will attack weakened trees before going after the healthy trees. Having healthy trees may prevent the Mountain Pine Beetle from attacking. It depends on how bad the swarms of beetles are when they reach your trees.
Dwarf Mistletoe is a parasite that weakens and kills Ponderosa Pine trees. Currently there is not a cure for this disease. Like cancer in a human, the Dwarf Mistletoe gets into the circulatory system of the tree and in about 2 to 5 years a new infection will appear as aerial shoots. Once you have arial shoots, the Mistletoe will develop seeds that will spread. Maximum horizontal distance of seed flight is 40 to 60 feet, but most seeds alight within 15 feet of the source plant. The Mistletoe will kill seedling trees pretty quickly and older more mature trees will last a long time before they die unless a secondary problem occurs that causes the weakened tree to die faster. Trees weakened by Dwarf Mistletoe will attract insects including the Mountain Pine Beetle. Currently the best practice is to remove infected trees. If you want to prolong the life of an infected tree and reduce the spread of Mistletoe to nearby trees, we can remove branches that have manifested the aerial shoots. To reduce or prevent your trees from getting Mistletoe, we can create canopy breaks between infested trees and your healthy trees. This can also be done along property lines to prevent your neighbors trees from infecting your trees.
Facts and Information About Mountain Pine Beetle from Boulder County
Mountain Pine Beetle Information from the Northern Front Range Mountain Pine Beetle Working Group
Please note that it is less expensive to remove trees that are not completely dead.