Pest Identification and Surveys

Pest Identification

Before a pest can be assessed for risk, we first need an accurate identification. This may seem like a straightforward task; however, Canada is home to over 55,000 species of native insects alone. To put a name to the pest we rely on our knowledgeable team in the Forest Health Section to identify specimens collected from the field or submitted to our lab in Fredericton. 

 
Forest Health Technicians work in the lab and the field to find insects and assess populations.

Monitoring & Detection

The first line of defense in any forest pest management program is effective detection. Our integrated pest management (IPM) approach uses the latest tools and monitoring systems that the scientific community can provide to ensure the most accurate and efficient methods are applied. Monitoring helps us not only determine presence and absence of pests, but also allows us to measure changes in populations over time to help understand if risk levels are changing.

 
A member of the Forest Health Section clips branches from the mid-crown of a balsam fir tree in search of spruce budworm.