The Society for the Protection of Forests from Insects and Diseases (SOPFIM) will begin aerial spraying of biological insecticides this week and will continue until the end of June.

111,000 hectares of forest are affected in the region. The areas most affected are to the south-east of Témiscamingue, near the Outaouais and east of Val-d’Or.

One of the few regions where the epidemic is progressing

While damage caused by SBW is slowing elsewhere in Quebec, the epidemic of this insect pest is progressing in Abitibi-Témiscamingue and the Chaudière-Appalaches region.

This also justifies SOPFIM’s intervention in the region, according to its general director Éric Lacroix.

Compared to the previous year, the areas infested with spruce budworm have increased. In 2021 we had a bare acreage of 2.2 million hectares and that area increased to 2.5 million hectares in 2022he says.

Balsam fir is the species most affected by the SBW epidemic and is used primarily for protection, while spruces are more resistant to attacks by this destructive insect.

” If there is heavy defoliation and many insects, the trees will die off in a period of three to five years if they are not protected. »

A risk-free insecticide

The sprayers are deployed from Val-d’Or, Amos and Lebel-sur-Quévillon airports. SOPFIM held public information sessions in these three cities last week.

The biological insecticide is Health Canada approved and considered safe for wildlife and human health.

The Department of Natural Resources and Forests is allocating nearly $45 million this year to conduct aerial sprays in certain Quebec forests.