CARY -- The town has found a possible antidote to an outbreak of tiny insects that threatens an unusual stand of trees in Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve.
Cary is working with local and state agencies to combat the hemlock woolly adelgid, an aggressive aphidlike insect that is native to Asia. The bugs were found this summer in 11 of the preserve's 235 Eastern hemlock trees and could wipe out the entire population if ignored.
After some study, the town has decided to start "bark painting" trees in the preserve next week. The insecticide directly applied to the bark is harmless to the tree, according to Doug McRainey, the town's parks planning manager.
The town will close the preserve and Stevens Nature Center from Monday through Friday next week to begin the first phase of the treatment.
The method should save the 11 affected trees, McRainey said. All hemlocks in the preserve will be treated to prevent the adelgid from spreading. Bartlett Tree Experts will be paid about $13,500 for the treatment.
The insect has a history of troublemaking, plaguing hemlock trees from Georgia to New England.
It kills trees by feeding at the base of the needles, which eventually turn brown and drop off.
The Eastern hemlocks in the 158-acre Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve grow along north-facing bluffs above Swift Creek, far from their normal range in the foothills and mountains of North Carolina.
The state owns most of the land in the preserve, which is operated by the town and draws about 100,000 visitors a year.
This is the first time the woolly adelgid has been found in the preserve, according to McRainey. He said the insect could have come to Cary on hemlocks used in landscaping.
The town plans to conduct a hemlock health census at the end of September, when it will map all hemlocks in Cary to determine which are infested.
