Curious About Longhorned Beetle Poison
If the pesticide to control the Asian Longhorned Beetle is injected into Sugar Maple trees, would it poison the sap that could be collected from those trees to make maple syrup? Will the trees be identified that have been injected? -Ron, Franklin
Thousands of trees in Worcester County are being injected with a pesticide to stop those beetles from destroying the trees, and the USDA is making plans to treat thousands of trees in Jamaica Plain this summer. The beetles have already cost the Worcester area about 19,000 trees.
As for the insecticide that is being used...yes, it will contaminate the sap. But the USDA tells us the sugar maples getting the treatment are not used for making maple syrup. In addition, those trees will be clearly marked to indicate that they have been treated, and that the sap is dangerous. Those will be the only trees thta will be marked.
Do you think it will work?
