Aerial spraying by the Society for the Protection of Forests from Insects and Diseases (SOPFIM) as part of the fight against spruce budworm has now been completed.
The last overflights took place in Sainte-Anne-des-Monts on July 1st. 100% of the spraying work has been completed in the region.
A total of 34,000 hectares of forest in Bas-Saint-Laurent and 148,000 hectares in Gaspésie were treated to control the insect pest.
In the Matane area, private forests in particular were targeted for spraying with helicopters, while the rest of the region was sprayed with aircraft on a larger scale.
Remember that the spruce budworm is the most destructive insect pest of Quebec’s coniferous forests. The forest pest affects the new shoots of fir and spruce trees, giving them a reddish appearance in summer and leading to the death of the trees after a few years.
The product used is the biological insecticide Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Btk), which is approved by Health Canada, although its use is not believed to pose a risk to human health, fauna and flora.
Work affected by fire
The work of the SOPFIM teams has been significantly altered in other regions of Quebec due to the fires that have prevented certain overflights due to smoke build-up. Across the province, 400,000 hectares of forest could still be treated out of the targeted 470,000 hectares.
*Collaboration with Benjamin Ducornait Arsenal Media
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