News

A Discussion on Bark Beetles to Take Place in Āraiši

On 16 January, Latvia's State Forest Embassy in Āraiši will host a discussion “Attention! Bark Beetles in Vidzeme”, encouraging forest owners and other interested parties to discuss the threat of bark beetles in Vidzeme with the experts invited by JSC “Latvia's State Forests” (LVM) and sharing experiences on enhancing forest values.

Vilmārs Katkovskis, LVM Rietumvidzeme Regional Forest Management Planning Manager, and experienced forester Kaspars Riže will provide information on the spread of European spruce bark beetles in LVM-managed areas, share experience on management measures and how to preserve and enhance forest value.

“In cooperation with the local government of Amata Municipality, we will organize several educational events on topical issues in forest management. The first of these is dedicated to the European spruce bark beetle, as this year is expected to have an increased risk of bark beetle spreading due to the warm winter. This theme is relevant to every forest owner. The European spruce bark beetle is an aggressive pest that attacks and destroys not only weakened or overgrown fir trees, but also completely healthy trees. Therefore, it is important to react immediately to preserve the value of our forest,” tells Vilmārs Katkovskis, LVM Rietumvidzeme Regional Forest Management Planning Manager.

The number of places at the event is limited; therefore those interested are kindly requested to apply in advance by writing to the e-mail address This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.%20">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or calling 25665528. Entrance is free. The event will start at 5 p.m.

The largest damage caused by bark beetles was last year observed in the Lubāna wetland. To limit further spread of dangerous spruce pests in the area, an action plan has been developed with recommendations on the procedure and timing of the removal of damaged stands and on the placement of pheromone traps to catch flying bark beetles.

According to the results of the National Forest Pest Monitoring of the Latvian State Forestry Research Institute “Silava”, the population of European spruce bark beetle has already increased due to the warm summer of 2018. According to the State Forest Service data on issued sanitary opinions, as compared to 2017, the number of issued opinions has increased, especially for controlling bark beetle damage. While in previous years about 30-50 hectares of forest stands were damaged as a result of the activity of bark beetles, in 2018 these were 89.8 hectares, but by 1 July 2019 - already 300 hectares were recorded.