Why HEMLOCK TREES Are Dying and What to do to SAVE THEM - Ep. 179

[@FlockFingerLakes]

Just want to give everyone an update as of early June 2024. We had a very mild winter/early spring and HWA was present on the hemlock trees throughout winter and spring. We recently released the second batch of S. tsugae on our hemlock trees in spring 2024 and we'd like to report that we have had lots of new bud growth on all but two of our hemlocks where we released. We cannot ascertain this was from the release of S. tsugae, but we're moving forward with the second year release. If you’d like to get the free resource for hemlock woolly adelgid licensed applicators in NYS, head over to our website at: www.flockfingerlakes.com/ - click on “Learn” in the main menu bar, and go from there.

[@happinin07]

Fascinating. I love when you have guests share their expertise on your channel. Beautiful educational content.

[@mairaurena4488]

Excellent video, I have been watching your channels for quite a while and have you have never stopped amazing me about how passionate you are about what you. Keep it up, our lovely world needs more people like you to preserve Mother Nature.

[@OldManse09]

Thank you for one more sad story of invasive species. It was interesting.

[@Twigfanatic]

Thanks for sharing this information on the Hemlock tree. I live in NC and with a quick search came across some volunteer opportunities. I was not even aware of this prior to your video. Thanks again!

[@Fabdanc]

This was so fascinating. As humans, we always think that it's going to be something big going to take us out... But it's probably going to be something small like a fungus or insects...

[@aaronolsen3985]

I LOVE how in depth your videos are and how you tackle these big problems from a sustainabilty and eco-conscious angle. I just have to say I wasn't a fan of Mark's attitude... not your fault at all! He seemed rather rude in his conversation with Summer, saying her theory about hybridization was irresponsible science, saying he didnt understand her question about the negative consequences of pesticides, saying he doesn’t do cost-benefit analysis bc he's a biologist not an economist (cost-benefit matters anytime there's a cost and a benefit!), etc. I appreciate that he took the time to share his expertise and knowledge but your guests are usually so kind and thoughtful! Thank you for all your wonderful videos!

[@esthersanchez2264]

Wouldn't be surprised if her competence, beauty and stature were intimidating, causing an off balance reaction from another expert in this field of study.😅

[@kelcritcarroll]

I know what part u are referring to…however I think he wants to get rid of the bug and the way to do it was that pesticide….and times a wasteing type thing… im in Michigan and this yr noticed the white stuff on our hemlocks this yr. .. .i,actually felt like he felt….(if he was thinking what I was thinking 😆)its not feasible for me to buy the bugs as I cant afford that ….we have ten acres of woods containing hemlocks and the wooly adeljid is here NOW attacking my beautiful hemlock trees……I think he was thinking about an avg homeowner because they had been discussing what the avg homeowner may be able to do and what he knew worked at that time in the interview….just saying 😁

[@jojow8416]

Ten years ago I planted the perimeter of our property with Hemlock seedlings that are now 10 feet tall and very bushy. Two years ago I noticed an infestation of white pests that you cover here. We were unable to find anyone who knew how to manage the problem and I gave up. Thank you for sharing this vital information. I will look into finding some safe products to treat our trees.

[@WinstonSmithGPT]

Hort oil.

[@caitlinellis8198]

I learned so much from this video! Thank you! I have some hemlocks on my property that are infected and have been trying to figure out the treatment that would be the right fit for us. The video has given me a lot to think about 🌲🌲

[@slaphappysmokey1]

I am not sure how this came across my feed, but I am so glad it did! This was incredibly fascinating and educational. I had to look it up in my state, where there is a page warning about being on the look out for these critters; they are not here, yet, but they have been reported in western Michigan. So, now that I understand these insects and how they propagate and move at some distance, I will keep my eyes open in the future while hiking through the woods. Thank you for this!! Good luck and I hope you come back with results from the experiment.

[@blakespower]

I planted some back in 2006 in the deep shaded woods in Maryland they finally reached the top of the anti deer cage five foot fence, after 17 years

[@jeff9774]

I kind of was waiting for the solution at the end. I don't like pesticides either and I rather lose the hemlock than use pesticides. Excellent video though!

[@Wendy-zl8kv]

Loved every bit of this! Thank you

[@latebloominghippie]

🤯 An amazing meeting of the minds! Thank you 💚

[@kelcritcarroll]

This was very interesting! Private homeowner here concerned about my woods and how to get rid of the wooly adeljid i have now for the first time….oceana county Michigan

[@edhackett7961]

First of all I know nothing about trees other than I saved a Hemlock on my property which is nearly 70 feet tall and beautiful. I live in Pennsylvania and love the Hemlock. My tree was dying and I saved it spraying Triazicide in the fall. Your video is very interesting. Thank you.

[@maryk1668]

I also live in Pennsylvania and read an article in our local paper a few months ago about eastern hemlocks being destroyed by wooly adelgid. I was shocked as I noticed the picture shown was the white cottony look and I realized my daughters 3 trees were not oozing sap, the were harboring insects! We treated with a drench of product containing imidacloprid. Hope it works as damage had been done for at least 3 years.

[@DarckMerby]

Esa labor que haces es monumental y muy valiosa para nosotros como parte de el medio ambiente

[@melissamybubbles6139]

Interesting. I didn't know anything about hemlock trees.

[@mitzi605]

Hemlock are my favorite, I live in Oregon zone 8b. The forests were lovely with them. I have some in my garden and I think they have this problem.

[@alexharvey3594]

Great video. Some comments after treating for 7 years, several hundred hemlocks on around 40 acres. Soil drench with imidacloprid is very effective and at least in NC, no applicator license is needed. I use the 2F formulation which ends up costing ~5 cents per dbh or about a buck for a 20" dbh tree. Nigrinus have been recovered near the property. As such we are retreating trees judiciously, e.g. not every tree will be retreated.

[@richardbarry04553]

I used a Bayer tree and shrub systemic imidacloprid soil drench on the hemlock in my yard in Massachusetts when I noticed the dreaded HWA had reappeared and that seemed to work well. Wasn’t very expensive to buy the concentrate and I believe the impact on non-target organisms was very minimal. I don’t live there anymore but hopefully that beautiful tree is still doing well.

[@CloudHudson]

I'm experimenting with Butt Juice, which is what I call a sun-tea brew of spent organic cigarette butts, applied as a basal bark spray. I think it's working to increase annual new growth and reclaim vacated branches, but I need more people in different places to repeat the process and verify the results. Someone, anyone, please give some thought to trying butt juice as an HWA treatment!

[@janxious]

Can't find any studies on it, but do lands/parks with hemlocks that are managed with controlled burns regularly have lower incidence of HWA? HWA doesn't reproduce in the soil so it might not manage the same way as some things but they might smoke out when they are in growth mode.

[@FlockFingerLakes]

If you’d like to get the free resource for hemlock woolly adelgid licensed applicators in NYS, head over to our website at: www.flockfingerlakes.com/ - click on “Learn” in the main menu bar, and go from there.

[@camillaluckey4136]

Feb 29, 2024. What are your results? We have app 50 hemlocks (a hedge plus a few trees) near Asheville NC and today (pruning) discovered eggs, also some gray-needled branches.

[@summerrayneoakes]

We had one tree that seemed really impacted by adelgid since our application of S. tsugae and we reapplied them this May 2024.

[@FireflyOnTheMoon]

What is border US bio-security like in terms of plants coming into the country? The US need to be tight about what plants are coming in - what companies, tourists and travellers are bringing in. --- For voters who say " eeew, regulation - we don't like red tape" - hemlock forest death and ash tree decimation is what happens when people and imports are not regulated. With climate change and increased global travel, biosecurity will become even worse.

[@michaelmcgowan5428]

It’s not just invasive plants coming in. Invasive species can come in on any number of things. Spotted lanternfly came in on a pallet of stone. With the way our global economy works, I think it’s going to be next to impossible to prevent new invasive species from entering the U.S.

[@glennplatvoet7111]

Merit a Bayer product will last 3 years excellent control for adelgid .I'm in N.J. trying is believing it works

[@hammerdoodle12]

Bayer is utterly untrustworthy

[@glennplatvoet7111]

@@hammerdoodle12 it's has nothing to do with the company. They just got a chemical that works for this problem you're just down on chemical engineers and don't understand how product improves life . Better living through chemistry they didn't come up with DDT our government did how's that

[@Heavilymoderated]

Mark Whitmore may know his stuff, but he is incredibly snarky. Just no need for that. You handled it pretty gracefully, though.

[@PlantNative]

Fascinating/Heartbreaking….State governments need to get pesticide applications going for private landowners. Tax incentives??? Anything! Your Hemlocks thank you for your concern.

[@WinstonSmithGPT]

Once hemlocks shed their needles, they don’t ever grow back. Not like yews. They just get uglier and uglier.

[@ssgg23]

Wow that explains why so many of them look so gnarly. I thought the trees near my house were really unhealthy until they said the shady bottom branches don’t always keep their needles.

[@FireflyOnTheMoon]

You can't replace native trees with something else. You can't replace their role in the biosphere.

[@WinstonSmithGPT]

I did get mites after pesticide treatment. I’d plan to also hit it with a miticide a year or two later.

[@gardennonsense]

I learned a lot from your videos always appreciate them, I believe animal soil restoration as a fundamental, Companion tree plantings, and let's not forget to add the fungi mushrooms, a more natural way. Pesticides are only a Band-Aid and longtime use are killers. Thank you and I always love your videos

[@FireflyOnTheMoon]

"Pesticides are only a Band-Aid". The video says not - it can be a life line for the hemlocks

[@gardennonsense]

Talk more about a singularity process, for a long time solution

[@karenishness1]

I saw a video stating that chemtrails are dropping parasites.

[@WinstonSmithGPT]

Why don’t you call arborists in MA where pesticides are common and ask for ideas. Maybe their distributor could help? You’re gonna have a lot of dead hemlocks soon if you don’t. Sorry.

[@blakespower]

hemlock forests? is that natural maybe its too many hemlocks in one area

[@johnsonlong1272]

LOL yes hemlock Forests are natural and used to exist thousands of acres at a time before man cut them down and hauled them out west as well as back to England and other countries who had already wiped out there timber species in their Homeland. What is not natural is cities in City folk they wipe out and in danger everything including air to breathe. One thing is for sure best bug came from one of about four places plants,soil, or mulch that would be imported for city folks to buy in a box store, or the forestry conservation imported it, or fish and game commission brought it into this country. Those are the three main ways that every tree and plant eating pest and disease always gets into this country oh yeah and I forgot exotic lumber importing, another words fancy boards and furniture for city folk.

[@ssgg23]

Having wild hemlock stands is not abnormal because they thrive in very specific environments. I tended to see them clustered together but with a few other species mixed in or surrounding, like oaks and white pines, in Massachusetts.

[@glennplatvoet7111]

I'm sure if you look there's new hemlock trees and ash .old infested trees die but the seed is future . she's not talking about that she should one side of conversation

[@FireflyOnTheMoon]

what?

[@panjimartiandaru3081]

I got headache trying to understand what you're saying. I give up.