News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Hemlock tress in Monterey’s Meadow Creek Woods struggle to survive due to a deadly invasive species of beetles.
The hemlock woolly adelgid was accidentally introduced to Northeast America from Japan in the 1950’s. The beetle sucks the nutrients from the tree killing it in 5 years or less.
Meadow Creek Woods Representative Robert Lee said if nothing is done, the Hemlocks of the Upper Cumberland will disappear.
“The experience of the Hemlocks is wonderful for human beings,” Lee said. “Our next generation will experience nature differently, and they will not have the same experience of the Hemlocks like we have.”
Lee said the only method to keep the trees alive at this point is by chemical treatment. The Monterey Board of Alderman is currently exploring funding for the inexpensive chemical. Lee said the only issue is finding volunteers to treat the trees.
“It is applied at the base of the tree, and it will keep the tree alive for about five years,” Lee said. “Fortunately, Hemlocks are not visited by bees or anything else that will pass any chemical along. It is a good tool in our chest to deal with this problem.”
Lee said saving a regular size Hemlock with the chemical midacloprid costs only a couple dollars. Unfortunately, chemical treatment is a short term solution to a endless infestation.
“The best way to take over that job of keeping individual trees alive is an introduction of predatory beetles, which is being investigated by the state and experimented with,” Lee said. “They are using a selection of different types that keep this problem in check in Japan.”
Hemlock woolly adelgids clone the females and produce egg casings with up to 1,000 beetles. Lee said there is less than 10 percent of Hemlocks left alive in the Smokey Mountains
As of 2015, 90% of the geographic range of eastern hemlock in North America has been affected by the species.
