New Jersey Trying To Get Ahead Of Pine Beetle Infestations
TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) - The pine beetles are on the march once again, and New Jersey officials want them stopped.
The southern pine beetle has been decimating pine trees in New Jersey in recent years. It's estimated that 14,000 trees were killed by the insects last year, according to Lawrence Hajna, spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
Hajna says workers will soon start laying traps in the affected forests.
"What the traps do is, we would put them in strategic areas and they're pheromone-scented traps that will attract the beetles in an area, and we will be able to measure and count and do some calculations to see if they'll be a major problem this year," he explains.
He says pesticides are little help, and the only way to stop the spread is to remove the affected trees to keep the beetles from moving to a new victim.
Reported by Lynne Adkins, KYW Newsradio 1060
