The city of Highland Village announced last week that it will remove several pine trees from Doubletree Ranch Park and the city municipal complex site due to beetle infestations.
Certified arborists recently assessed the pine trees at both locations and found that many of them are infested with IPS beetles, which bore into trees and lay their eggs under the bark. The larvae then feed on the tree’s vascular tissue, “which has caused severe stress in nearly all of the trees assessed and, in some cases, complete failure,” according to a statement from the city.
A contractor will treat the trees with an insecticide that should protect them for up to two years, but several of the trees are beyond saving. If those trees are left standing, the beetles would move on to healthy trees, so the city has decided to remove them. According to the city, 138 trees at Doubletree Ranch Park will be treated and 17 will be removed, while six at the municipal complex will be treated and 22 removed. The work will begin no later than mid-August.
 GIF.gif)
