Elm Bark Beetles are the culprit when it comes to spreading Dutch Elm Disease, and The City of Moose Jaw has about 18,000 Elm trees that need protecting.

City Horticulturalist, Sarah Regent, stresses the importance of avoiding the disease at all costs.

"Once a tree has it, there's really nothing that can be done except for removing the entire tree, it's quite a lethal disease, and it does attack quite quickly," says Regent. 

The beetles can fly up to a couple of kilometres, so the disease isn't localized to any one area, as the beetles can hop to trees randomly.

Regent says the biggest thing is to keep Elm Trees healthy.

"Make sure that no Elm Wood is lying around, basically the best way to control the spread of the disease is to control the beetles, you can also get your trees basal sprayed in September to kill off any overwintering beetles," says Regent.

Basal spraying is applying an insecticide to the bottom part of the tree, the area where most of the beetles would camp out during the winter. 

Regent says The City is monitoring for the disease.

"We are doing some injections for our higher value trees it is quite an intensive process; it basically immunizes the tree for three years against the disease."

A big stressor on the trees right now is drought. 

"Give your Elm trees a deep watering every once in a while to help with the tree's resiliency," says Regent.  

If you require any additional information, contact the Parks and Recreation Department at (306) 694-4439.