The government’s world-leading eradication programme has successfully eradicated the eight-toothed spruce bark beetle from all outbreak sites in England that were identified in 2021, it has been revealed today (Monday 1 September).
The eight-toothed spruce bark beetle known as Ips typographus is a serious pest of spruce trees in Europe which was first identified in the UK in 2018. It prefers stressed or dying trees but under the right conditions it can attack healthy trees.
Successful elimination by the Forestry Commission at the 13 outbreak sites follows three years of monitoring on site for beetle presence, gathering data and carrying out regular surveillance to determine eradication and prevent the establishment of breeding beetles. This illustrates that the policy approach and operational activity led by the Forestry Commission and Forest Research is proving successful in limiting the risk of the pest establishing in the UK. If left unmanaged, the pest could significantly threaten Great Britain’s forestry and timber industries putting an estimated 725,000 hectares of spruce, with a value of £2.9 billion, at risk of infestation and damage. 725,000 hectares is an area the size of Cumbria.
Continued vigilance is urged, however, following a new very small finding in July which has been identified in Lincolnshire. This was identified as part of continued surveillance to identify outbreaks. Current evidence suggests outbreaks are the results from blow over of the pest from the European mainland where it is endemic. There is no evidence of spread – or of impacts on healthy spruce – in the UK. We’re urging landowners and land managers to report any Ips typographus sightings immediately via Tree Alert to help reduce the risk of the pest spreading.
Defra Chief Plant Health Officer Professor Nicola Spence said
“We are very encouraged by the fact that our world-leading programme has successfully eradicated the eight-toothed spruce bark beetle from 2021 outbreak sites.
“We are seeing with a changing climate an ever increasing risk from pests and diseases and it requires a huge effort by the Plant Health Service to manage outbreaks.”
Forestry Commission Director of Forest Services Dr Anna Brown said
“The success of our eradication and monitoring programme shows that we are managing to keep this pest from establishing in England, but this takes a huge amount of effort and the continued support of the woodland and forestry sector.
“Spruce is important for our current timber security, and it is vital that we remain vigilant, especially with this warm weather which results in a heightened risk of trees becoming stressed and more vulnerable to pest and disease threats. There is no evidence of spread within the UK, but all landowners and land managers should continue to check the health of spruce trees on their land.”
Woodland managers, landowners and the forestry sector are urged to remain on guard following recent weather conditions which mean there is an increased risk of an Ips typographus infestation, and to continue to comply with ongoing restrictions for movement of spruce material and methods of forest operations in the Demarcated Area.
Additional information
- After eradication, outbreak sites are monitored for beetle presence over three years, gathering data and carrying out regular surveillance activities. Extensive surveillance on these sites shows no ongoing presence of breeding Ips typographus, following exhaustive removal of susceptible spruce on each site to prevent establishment and onward spread.
- All outbreak sites are subject to robust eradication action in line with the Ips typographus contingency plan.
- Landowners, land managers and timber processors are encouraged to report any sightings immediately via Tree Alert to help reduce the risk of the pest spreading.
- A grant is available within the Proactive Spruce Removal Area as part of the Tree Health Pilot.
- A map indicating the ‘Proactive Spruce Removal area’ is available via this link.
- An updated Outbreak Sites Summary Map is available via this link
- Defra will host a workshop later this year, to continue to exchange knowledge with the international plant health community on innovative and technological solutions for managing bark beetle pests.
- Volunteers from England, Wales and Scotland who have spruce growing in woodland that they own or manage, and who are willing to host and collect samples by installing a spruce bark beetle trap, are wanted for a national monitoring project to help prevent the potential spread of Ips typographus. This project is run by Forest Research, Forestry Commission and the Sylva Foundation. By taking part in this project, you can become part of an early warning system and help prompt action to be taken to limit the impacts of this pest.
- A new Spruce Site Assessment grant is set to be launched to accelerate the removal of susceptible spruce across the highest risk areas to support landowners through the process of removing spruce from their land. This will help landowners gather information on what spruce is on their land, its condition and the associated costs of removing it as well as any grant funding they may be eligible for.
- More details will be announced in the autumn.
