Drones and sniffer dogs deployed in fight against tiny beetle threatening UK forests
Are drones the secret weapon in the fight against the spruce bark beetle?
- Government scientists are deploying drones and sniffer dogs to combat the spruce bark beetle, a pest threatening UK conifer trees.
- The 5mm long Ips Typographus beetle, first detected in the UK in 2018 after being carried by winds from Europe, has already devastated forests across the continent.
- Drones scan hundreds of hectares of woodland for signs of infestation, while sniffer dogs detect the beetle's pheromones and waste to identify contaminated areas.
- The strategy aims to prevent the beetle from causing widespread destruction to the UK's 725,000 hectares of spruce trees.
- Officials claim the new defence methods have been successful, making the UK the first country to eradicate the beetle in controlled areas.