Slow the Spread
Avoid infested areas mid April until early August, if possible
This is when the crawlers are highly mobile! Crawlers and eggs can be easily spread and cause new areas of adelgid infestation. Remember that ten adults can produce up to 30 million new adelgid in two years!
If you have to be in the woods between early April and late August, follow this simple checklist, to help slow the spread of crawlers to new locations:
- Use a lint roller to remove potential crawlers from clothing once you have left the forest stand
- Avoid placing gear on or near hemlock trees
- If possible, avoid visiting hemlock stands in uninfested areas for several days
- Do not collect branch samples or specimens — photograph instead
- Do not bring your pet into infested stands
- Wearing light coloured clothing could assist with detecting and removing crawlers
- Do not park your vehicle near or under hemlock trees
- Launder all clothing before visiting the woods again
Firewood and its bark can be infested with eggs or larvae. If you move firewood, for example from your home to your cottage or campsite, you can unwittingly spread a pest like HWA to a an uninfested area. When you need firewood, remember to:
- buy it locally to where you will burn it
- buy kiln-dried firewood if available
- check with parks or campgrounds before you go for their rules about firewood
Find out more here: Don't Move Firewood!
To help stop HWA spreading to uninfested regions, as of June 2022, the movement of hemlock materials (including logs, branches and woodchips) and all species of firewood are restricted from the following areas in Nova Scotia:
- the counties of Lunenburg, Digby, Kings, Queens, Shelburne, Yarmouth and Annapolis in Nova Scotia
For the most up to date information on wood movement restrictions see CFIA's full list of wood movement regulations.