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If you live in the southeastern part of Nebraska, there is hardly a way you don’t know about pine wilt.  You may not know it by name, but you’ve seen the big dead pine trees.  Pine wilt can take out a solid windbreak in just a few years time. 

You might first notice some grayish, brown needles on the tree or maybe one or two branches where all the needles have turned brown.  Next thing you know, every needle on the tree is brown.  At its very worst we’re talking a couple of weeks here.  Folks, it’s done.  The tree is dead. 

What happened?  Nematodes (pinewood nematode) have attacked the tissue in the tree, causing decreased water flow and … eventually death.  The nematodes are carried tree to tree by pine sawyer beetles.   Immature pine sawyer beetles tunnel in the wood of dying pines and when the mature beetles emerge, they may carry thousands of nematodes on their bodies. 

Burn that dead tree as soon as you can.  Clean up all the needles and small branches for burning also.  The idea is to burn the tree before the mature pine sawyer beetles emerge from the wood since they carry the nematodes from tree to tree.  If the tree dies after October 1st, you need to burn it before May 1st.  If the tree dies between May 1st and September 30th, it should be removed and burned immediately.  (Don’t forget a burn permit!)   

We’ve watched our neighbors fight pine wilt for years and it hit us just a couple of years ago.  Four of our tree’s were killed by it last year, and two or three the year before.  If you have Scotch (aka Scots) pines, start your tree replacement research now.  Ponderosa pines, white pines, spruces, firs, junipers and red cedar should be considered since they don’t normally die of this disease.