What is the Eastern Hemlock Tree?
The Eastern Hemlock, also known as Tsuga Canadensis, is one of the most prevalent trees that occupies the southern Appalachian Mountains. Often called the “redwood of the east”, individual trees are capable of growing up to 150’ tall and have been known to live over 500 years! As a keystone species, these trees are known to provide essential shelter for hundreds of varieties of birds and other vertebrates, and are also critical for providing shade to mountain streams required for trout and other aquatic life. The vast root system of Eastern Hemlocks are known to prevent stream bank erosion and filter out potentially harmful pollutants before reaching waterways. It can be said that the health of the southern Appalachian ecosystem can be measured by the health of this emblematic tree species.
So what’s the problem?
Have you ever spent time in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Georgia? If so, you’ve likely been steps from this little bug without even knowing it. The Hemlock Wooly Adelgid (HWA) is a small and invasive insect originally native to Asia. First identified in northeast Georgia in 2003, it took only nine years for this pest to proliferate and spread throughout the entirety of North Georgia’s native Hemlock range. Since that time, the loss of Hemlock trees throughout the southern Appalachians has been devastating, with millions of individual trees falling prey to the HWA.
The HWA is a bug most commonly identified by small “cotton-like” balls that are located on the underside of hemlock needles. These small white egg sacs are most visible from fall until early summer, which is when an infestation is easiest to detect. These pests are capable of producing two generations per year, and once infested, are known to kill Hemlock trees within three to ten years.
Do you have an HWA problem? There are several management options that exist in order to eradicate these devastating bugs from the landscape.