Field Tests of Pine Oil as a Repellent for Southern Pine Bark Beetles

Abstract

An experimental mixture of terpene hydrocarbons derived from wood pulping, BBR-2, sprayed on the lower 6 m of widely separated southern pine trees did not protect nearby trees from southern pine beetle attacks. Whether treated trees were protected from southern pine beetle was inconclusive. The pine oil mixture did not repel lps from treated trees or nearby untreated trees. Black turpentine beetles were attracted either by pine oil or by the resinosis and injury of the host caused by the pine oil. The pine oil was phytotoxic to treated trees, causing resinosis, mottling of the inner phloem and outer xylem tissue, and mortality. This is the first report of phytotoxicity to conifers.