</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Do they spread and is there a control so the non-infested trees can be saved? )</font>
It seems I was mistaken about the type of bug. These are southern pine beetles who usually infect pines that have been stressed through drought, construction, etc. Most healthy trees will not be infested. We had a 3 year drought in this area which has stressed most of the surrounding trees.
There are some insecticides which can be used to control infestations, and I'm looking into them, but usually all the trees in a certain radius will need to be cut and removed. These trees are almost all 60' to 80' tall, and probably already being destroyed. I'm not that concerned as I was interested in getting rid of them and planting other trees, so there's a lot of work ahead.
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( John, Please be careful, I have a close friend that lost his dad in a accident doing what you are doing on gentle rolling terrian. The back end part of the log started to roll down a hill (sideways) and took the tractor with it and turned it over and killed the man. --Ken Sweet )</font>
Ken, it's very flat here so not likely a problem. If you'll notice in the picture of the chained log, I hook the log with a large loop of chain with slack at the top so that if the end were to start rolling away, the long would come out of the chain before it could drag the tractor along with it.
I have a very healthy respect for the dangers of skidding, go VERY slowly while pulling, and always assure that no obstacles can be encountered along the way. Thanks for your concern, and I WILL be careful. John
