The government’s world-leading eradication programme has successfully eradicated the eight-toothed spruce bark beetle from all outbreak sites in England that were identified in 2021, it has been revealed on 1 September.
The eight-toothed spruce bark beetle known as Ips typographus is a serious pest of spruce trees in Europe which was first identified in the UK in 2018. It prefers stressed or dying trees but under the right conditions it can attack healthy trees, News Cover reports, citing UK government.
Successful elimination by the Forestry Commission at the 13 outbreak sites follows three years of monitoring on site for beetle presence, gathering data and carrying out regular surveillance to determine eradication and prevent the establishment of breeding beetles. This illustrates that the policy approach and operational activity led by the Forestry Commission and Forest Research is proving successful in limiting the risk of the pest establishing in the UK. If left unmanaged, the pest could significantly threaten Great Britain’s forestry and timber industries putting an estimated 725,000 hectares of spruce, with a value of £2.9 billion, at risk of infestation and damage. 725,000 hectares is an area the size of Cumbria.
Continued vigilance is urged, however, following a new very small finding in July which has been identified in Lincolnshire. This was identified as part of continued surveillance to identify outbreaks. Current evidence suggests outbreaks are the results from blow over of the pest from the European mainland where it is endemic. There is no evidence of spread – or of impacts on healthy spruce – in the UK. We’re urging landowners and land managers to report any Ips typographus sightings immediately via Tree Alert to help reduce the risk of the pest spreading.
