The mountain pine beetle continues to wreak havoc on Colorado forests. I’ve felled 163 trees so far this year at our family ranch, and maybe another 10 at my B-I-L’s property in the mountains. This doesn’t include a boatload of thinning -- saplings and smaller trees under 10” in diameter – which I don’t keep track of. My sister and B-I-L had a contractor fell about 20 large beetle trees on their property this fall, as I couldn’t fit the time into my schedule.

Beetles suck. Big time.

During the Thanksgiving holiday I burned a few turkey calories by bucking the trunks of a number of trees on the ground. In 2 days I consumed almost 2 gallons of premix alkylate fuel. Maybe 13 or 14 tanks of fuel in total, mostly in a Stihl 400, with a couple tanks in a Stihl 261. I consumed roughly equal amounts Stihl and VP 50:1 fuel. Temps varied between 30 and 55 degrees, at an altitude of just under 9000 feet. Trunk diameters ranged from about 12 to 28 inches. I used a 20” bar on the Stihl 400 and a 16” bar on the 261, sharpening their full-chisel full-comp chains with each tank. My hands and arms were griping on the 3rd day.

Pre-mix fuel is expensive. My B-I-L and I have used Stihl fuel for a few years, but its cost is becoming a pain. I’ve experimented with VP fuel, as it seems to perform about the same, but costs noticeably less. Thanksgiving was the big fuel test. Side-by-side I couldn’t see a difference – starting, power, exhaust fumes, smell. One really nice thing is that after the day’s initial cold start, both fuels started with single pulls. Engines hot, warm, or cold – a great test for high altitude use. Stihl’s carburetor electronics help here, as my old Stihl 310 tends to start with more drama.

Anyway, I’m sold on VP pre-mix. Stihl fuel runs $35-$40 per gallon around here. VP is generally around $26 per gallon. But there were sales over the past few days. I grabbed 3 gallons at $23, and another 6 gallons at $20. Including the 3-ish gallons I had on hand, I should be set for fuel well in to 2026….maybe longer with more use of the battery saw.

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I get that many folks can’t justify the high cost of premixed fuel. For years we used regular auto gasoline mixes. Then I switched to gas without alcohol, which improved running and eliminated carburetor rebuilds. Alkylate fuel improved things further. I learned that automotive gas includes 150-500 chemicals/compounds, including some nasty chemicals known as BTEX – benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes. Pre-mix alkylate fuels generally include only 10 chemicals/compounds, and no BTEX. Alkylate fuels have very low sulfur content. Since I began using alkylate fuels, I don’t experience the sinus issues and headaches I regularly dealt with after a heavy day of cutting with automotive gas.

Thank you for sharing, good info on the premix.

Tri fuel from Home depot or husquvarna are both excellent. I buy what ever is cheapest. They are all really good. I use a mix with non E. fuel and mix it with the canned fuel and never have an issue.

quote:

Originally posted by fritz:

...Pre-mix fuel is expensive. My B-I-L and I have used Stihl fuel for a few years, but its cost is becoming a pain. I’ve experimented with VP fuel, as it seems to perform about the same, but costs noticeably less.....

Anyway, I’m sold on VP pre-mix. Stihl fuel runs $35-$40 per gallon around here. VP is generally around $26 per gallon.....

My saw, trimmer, and mowers start and run great on $3.90 per gallon 90 octane ethanol free. Even though Stihl recommends 89 octane they seemed to start and run fine on 87 with 10% ethanol, but since the local station started carrying 90 ethanol free 6-7 years ago that's what I fill my gas cans with since it stores better. I typically go through 3 gallons of 2-stroke mixed gas a year but I think I've mixed up 5-6 this year due to all the trees that broke or blew over this Spring. Maybe someday I'll treat the saw to Stihl premix to see if it somehow makes the saw run even better.

ever thought about pushing them over with a loader, piling them up, and burning? might save you some money...

Go to a small airport and buy some 100LL avgas. Mix 2 gallons with Stihl oil.
You can't get any better than that and a lot less money than anything other than pump gas

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
Go to a small airport and buy some 100LL avgas. Mix 2 gallons with Stihl oil.
You can't get any better than that and a lot less money than anything other than pump gas

Avgas contains BTEX and lead. I will not subject my body to those compounds being ignited within 2 feet of my face.

quote:

Originally posted by YellowJacket:
ever thought about pushing them over with a loader, piling them up, and burning? might save you some money...

At my B-I-L's place in the mountains, burn piles are allowed during the winter. So we burn the slash (i.e. branches) when there's enough snow on the ground. Burning requires a county permit and a review by the fire department. They don't like folks burning larger pieces of wood, meaning tree trunks. Their land is too steep for a loader, and a good faller with a larger chainsaw is necessary. Next year I expect to fall 4 or 5 of the large trees now fighting beetle infestation. These trees have 24-30 inch diameter trunks, and are likely 70-85 feet tall.

Our ranch land has significantly less slope, however the big trees in & around creek beds and erosion ravines can cause vehicle challenges. Burning slash or trunks isn't allowed in that county. I'm probably down to around 70-ish beetle trees that need to be felled now. I've taken down hundreds of trees. Trees range in size from 14" diameter & 50 feet tall to 36" diameter & 80-90 feet tall. The average tree on my list is likely 22-24" diameter and 60-70 feet tall. Many of the trees are in mature groves, with a number of large & healthy trees nearby. Meaning that larger vehicles can't get all that close to the beetle trees. This also means that felling generally requires some skills in aiming where the stems will land -- hanging up a big felled tree in another one is no bueno.

Fritz do the trunks of the trees have any use? Can they be sold to a logger or used to make pellets?

quote:

Originally posted by fritz:
Avgas contains BTEX and lead. I will not subject my body to those compounds being ignited within 2 feet of my face.

Hmmm, well that’s a consideration. It will be interesting to see if the new unleaded avgas formulations also have BTEX and how they do in chainsaws and other small motors once they roll out and are more available.

Have you tried selling the lumber? I heard a number of years ago that bug killed trees develop a sort of blue-ish hue in the wood that is sought after and they go for a premium price. Might be worth looking into..

We had 2 large Red Pine trees die at our camp property in MI, got a little $$ for them. In this case we cut them ourselves then brought the logs to the smaller lumber operation. The trees were freshly dead, just months prior.

As to the premium fuels, the largest benefit is when an engine sits, unused. That can happen with a chainsaw. I often use 1/2 100LL aviation fuel, the other half 91, non-ethanol. Not saying that mix is all that special, don’t feel the need to go full 100ll.

If I was doing a lot of sawing, I’d find an option cheaper than the canned mix, maybe use that towards the end. It’s like my riding mower, I just use regular fuel most of the summer. As Fall approaches I go non-ethanol then 100LL for storage. Again, to each their own.

OBTW, even though I’m in WI, I burn a fair amount of pine/evergreen in my woodstove. Ideally during the not so cold times, then mixed with hardwoods.

The reason being, I have more than a lifetime supply right at my fingertips. This is mostly White Pine, then Red.

Of course it burns quicker, yes I clean my chimney, so far, so good. I used to use Douglas Fir in western WA State.

I used VP when I lived at 7400’ in Co. never had a problem so it was worth it to me. Now in Florida I still use VP for my powered tools and pressure washer. Have yet to replace a carb with it.

So why do you have to cut down infected trees?

The Mobil gas station in Green Mountain (Lakewood) has ethanol free 93 octane, which I use for my chain saws and my son's dirt bike. It's about $7 per gallon. However, they also have unleaded 104 octane gasoline. I've never used it myself, about $12 - $14 per gallon, IIRC.

Mobil:
12410 W Alameda Pkwy, Lakewood, CO 80228

quote:

Originally posted by calugo:
So why do you have to cut down infected trees?

The majority of trees invaded by beetles will die. Some within a few months of the initial hits, others may last a few years before giving up the battle.

Wood begins deteriorating shortly after the tree dies. Branches lose strength and fall from the tree. Twice I've been thinning saplings, heard a crash behind me, and saw the wreckage from a large branch smacking into the ground. The stem loses strength, becoming susceptible to snapped in two by wind storms -- especially after snow loads from wet spring storms. The root system loses strength -- the tree can fall over from wind loads, or may just topple over if the tree is leaning noticeably.

The ranch's woodlands are around 120-130 acres, but we regularly visit all areas. We must control noxious weeds from late spring through mid summer, which is currently done from an ATV and a side-by-side. We regularly drive the woodlands with a pickup truck. We lease the land for cattle grazing, and the cattle regularly roam through the woods for grass. I have not yet seen a tree fall, but I've seen where trees fell overnight -- right over the previous day's vehicle tracks.

Here's a portion of a roughly 5-6 acre area that regularly receives micro-burst wind storms. Our ancestors never cleaned up this portion of the land. It took me a couple of years to remove all the crap wood, and now we can drive trucks through here -- although with a little bobbing and weaving.




Here's an example of a snag which roots failed. It wasn't dead for all that long when the roots failed, evidenced by still having some brown needles. When a ponderosa has been dead for some time, the branches have no needles.

Removing them also reduces fire risk and potentially slows the spread.

quote:

Beetles suck. Big time.

Is there any way to go after the beetles before they kill the tree?

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
Fritz do the trunks of the trees have any use? Can they be sold to a logger or used to make pellets?

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
Have you tried selling the lumber? I heard a number of years ago that bug killed trees develop a sort of blue-ish hue in the wood that is sought after and they go for a premium price.

We looked into lumber, pellet processing, and firewood a few years ago when the beetle problems kicked into high gear.
- There isn't much lumber processing in Colorado. The mills don't pick up the logs, so you must deliver large logs to them. We don't have the trucks and related equipment to do that.
- Wood pellets are a more likely option. However the pellet produces have great supplies of their own, and thus log prices are low. There's more dead pine, fir, and spruce around here than anyone knows how to deal with.
- Split firewood is sold in small plastic-wrapped packages at many grocery stores and convenience stations. The prices they charge are ludicrously high. A few dealers own the market, and they have a substantial equipment investment. We couldn't compete, nor do they want our relatively minor supply. Some folks are able to sell pickup loads and face cords here and there -- of unsplit bucked logs. This is likely our best option once we build homes & live on the ranch full time.

One of our neighbors has access to a really large wood chipper. He chips up the branches and smaller logs for mulch. Which worked pretty well for a while...until the roughly annual summer monster rain storm carried his purdy mulch into their lower pasture.

So....what to do? Years ago I experimented with stacking branches in the numerous erosion ravines on our property. Although our land is quite a ways east of the mountains, the plains there are anything but flat. I found that with a high enough density of branches & logs, the erosion is noticeably reduced. Sometimes almost eliminated.

Here's the first big erosion ravine I tackled. This picture shows about 75 yards of 200 or yards in this section. The branches settled over time and I refilled the ravine this past year.




There are a dozen or so erosion gullies that drain the open western pasture into the seasonal creek that runs through the center of the ranch. Branches and smaller logs just get swept away almost every year. I decided to cut the trunks into 6' lengths, move them around the land via pickup, drill holes through the logs, and anchor the logs with 2' and 3' lengths of rebar. Here's the beginning portion of one gully. I did this work in the first half of 2025.





So far, this seems to help reduce erosion. The logs are holding position after significant rains. It's a crap ton of work and it ain't fun.