Operational use of SPLAT Verb to protect pine trees from Mountain Pine Beetle attack

Dendroctonus ponderosae, the mountain pine beetle (MPB), is one of the most destructive insect pests of pine forests in North America and responsible for billions of dollars in losses annually. ISCA Technologies’ SPLAT Verb is a novel management platform that effectively targets MPB, while remaining easy to use and providing trees with the necessary protection. Our management strategy focuses on single-tree protection and local forest stand (areawide) applications of SPLAT Verb, a long-lasting formulation containing the bark beetle anti-aggregation semiochemical verbenone. SPLAT Verb is formulated to provide a continuous release verbenone over three to six months at levels that disrupt the aggregation behavior of MPB, thus protecting individual pine trees or forest stands. Here we report how SPLAT Verb techniques designed for operational use make it easier to use and more efficient than other current technologies. In a time when we are witnessing unprecedented levels of tree mortality attributed to MPB outbreaks across much of western North America, SPLAT Verb brings a fresh and efficacious new perspective to the management of MPB and the protection of our forest stands.