‘Beetles Invasion’ to Wipe Out West Haven Woods

West Haven, CT — The Norway spruce trees that have towered over the Maltby Lakes off Route 34 in West Haven for more than 100 years will soon be cleared out due to an infestation of southern pine beetles.

The New Haven Register reports that thousands of the beetles have infested the spruce trees and are threatening to spread, forcing officials to make the difficult decision to clear out the trees.

• To sign up for West Haven breaking news alerts and more, click here.

In all, 33 acres of spruce trees will be cleared and FOX 61 reports the Regional Water Authority’s original idea was to take out just the infected trees but in order to quarantine the beetles, the surrounding trees will also have to go.

Only the spruce trees will be removed, but the forest will be thinned considerably as a result, according to the Register.

There is no set date for the removal of the trees, but officials expect it to be done within the next month, according to the Register.

Read more at the New Haven Register here.

Image of the Southern Pine Beetle via the CT DEEP. Read more about the beetles here.