Verbenone Information

Prevent MPB infestation in your trees and forests

Verbenone Pheromone Repellent

Verbenone can be purchased from the County for $10/pouch (including GST) payable by credit card in advance. Please call ahead to reserve and pay for your order. Verbenone orders will be available for pickup at the County’s George Pegg Botanic Garden (Glenevis) in late May.

To consult with the County about Verbenone or to book a pick-up time, please contact Lac Ste. Anne County Horticulturist Lorraine Taylor at 780.785.3411 (toll-free 1.866.880.5722) or ltaylor (@) LSAC.ca.

Please consult the Verbenone Use Guidelines for details on using verbenone for protection.

Verbenone Pheromone Repellent Pouch

Pine Beetle Pitch Tubes On Pine Tree

Mountain Pine Beetle Resources

	Mountain Pine Beetle Identification
	Mountain Pine Beetle Lifecycle
	Mountain Pine Beetle: What You can Do
	Mountain Pine Beetle: Why They are Here
	Verbenone Usage Guidelines

Mountain Pine Beetle

The Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB) or Dendroctonus ponderosae, is a small bark beetle about 4.0 to 7.5 mm in length – about the size of a grain of rice. In 2006 strong winds carried beetles from BC to the Grande Prairie and Peace River Region. A 2009 inflight brought beetles from BC to Whitecourt and Slave Lake areas. In 2018 high winds carried beetles from Jasper to several locations in Lac Ste. Anne County as well as into Yellowhead, Parkland, Brazeau, Leduc, Wetaskiwin, Clearwater, Ponoka, and Lacombe counties.

Learn More

Mountain Pine Beetle Mitigation Tips

Mountain pine beetles attack and kill all types of pine… When beetle populations are small, they prefer stressed, mature or over-mature (80+ years) pine. As populations grow, any pine over 12.5 cm in diameter can be killed – even healthy trees.
The County carries a product called Beetle Block Verbenone pouches that can be attached to specific high-value trees. Verbenone is used in spot applications to help prevent beetles from attacking valued trees. Verbenone is an anti-aggregation pheromone used to prevent beetle attacks on healthy pine.
Mountain pine beetles and many other insects communicate using pheromones. Verbenone is a synthetic anti-aggregation pheromone that replicates the beetle pheromone. Arriving beetles receive the "verbenone message" that the tree is full and the food supply is insufficient for additional beetles.
Verbenone is specific to MPB and is not a pesticide.
The application of repellent pheromones like Verbenone must be completed before the beetles emerge to look for new host trees. For the best results, a fresh pouch should be placed on the tree partway through the year.
Visit the Weed & Pest Control section of the County website for more mountain pine beetle mitigation information and resources.
The mountain pine beetle is the most serious pest of the mature pines in western Canada. Over the past four years, they have moved east of the foothills into Yellowhead, Lac Ste Anne, Parkland, Brazeau, Leduc, Wetaskiwin, Clearwater, Ponoka, and Lacombe counties.
Under low to normal populations, Mountain Pine Beetles act as a natural forest renewal agent by killing weak or old trees to open up the canopy for new growth. However, in areas with dense pine forests and with the higher beetle populations that the province is recording, Mountain Pine Beetles can kill up to 80% or more pine trees on a given stand. This can lead to a change in water tables, an increase in stream flow, earlier run-off patterns, and an increased risk of wildfire. In Lac Ste. Anne County, the risk is primarily for shelterbelt and other high-value specimen trees