The Forestry Commission is expanding its efforts to combat the Ips typographus beetle pest across East Anglia.

The larger eight-toothed European spruce bark beetle, a significant threat to spruce trees in Europe, has been detected in the region.

Measures introduced in 2022 in the South East will now extend to parts of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Lincolnshire starting June 12.

Andrea Deol, a spokesperson for the Forestry Commission, urged landowners and timber processors to “remain vigilant” as the next beetle flight season approaches.

The beetle, prevalent in spruce trees like the Norway spruce across most of Europe, likely arrived in the region through wind dispersal.

First spotted in the UK in Kent in 2018, it typically infests stressed or dying trees but can also attack healthy ones under certain conditions.

The demarcated area was last expanded in 2022 to include Hampshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Surrey, the City of London, Greater London, West Sussex, East Sussex, Kent, Essex, and Hampshire.

Restrictions will be placed on the movement of susceptible tree materials such as spruce wood, bark, and branches. Woodland managers, landowners, and the forestry industry are encouraged to remove stressed or weakened spruce trees and replant with other species to limit the beetle’s spread.

Ms Deol added: “Following a report of Ips typographus to the Forestry Commission in East Anglia, we conducted a swift investigation including rapid eradication measures, alongside wider environment surveillance to determine the scale of the issue and identify additional suitable management actions.”

 

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