Sometimes you burn to reduce fuel loads. Sometimes you burn to improve forest health. Sometimes, however, you burn to… kill maggots?
This use is near and dear to my heart, as today, the Stink Bugs that have begun to infect Michigan rear their ugly heads once again. I found myself wondering, as I watched one of the oblong monsters lumber up my front door: can fire help with this? I couldn’t find anything online about using fire to help with stink bugs, but it doesn’t seem too far-fetched. Maybe in the right areas, burning could actually help reduce loading of their preferred habitats and food sources. Of course, they do eat an awful lot of crops and fruits… maybe fire isn’t the best tool for fighting stink bugs.
In any case, check out this article about one interesting use of prescribed fire - stopping the spread of some especially dangerous apple-eating maggots.
