Spruce Budworm Makes Comeback In Hudson Bay Area

Spruce Budworm Makes Comeback In Hudson Bay Area

Wednesday, June 01, 2011 at 12:51

 

 

The provincial government is preparing to spray the Hudson Bay region of the provincial forest for spruce budworms.

 

Dr. Rory McIntosh is a scientist with Saskatchewan Environment.

 

He says, weather permitting, they hope to begin the aerial campaign Friday morning.

 

McIntosh says the province has been dealing with budworms for many years now, but the spraying is starting to have an impact.

 

He says the peak outbreak in the province was in 2002, and it has gradually declined since then.

 

McIntosh notes the spruce budworm’s prevalence in the Hudson Bay area was at its highest in the late 1990s, before it “crashed”.

 

However, he says there has been a resurgence in that region in the last couple of years.

 

McIntosh says they will be using a naturally-occurring soil bacterium called BTK on the worms.

 

It kills certain types of caterpillars including budworms, but is considered safe for birds, fish, and other wildlife.