This is how much forest the spruce bark borer has destroyed in Kronoberg and Kalmar counties during 2022

In Kronoberg, Blekinge and Kalmar counties, roughly 900,000 cubic meters of forest have been attacked by the spruce bark borer in 2022. But the worst affected are Örebro and Sörmland counties.

- I suffer with the affected forest owners and it is now important not to give up but to continue to fight the bark borers and save valuable timber from the forest, says Magnus Sääf, forest manager at Mellanskog, in a press release.

Forest infested by the spruce bark borer.

Photo: Mattias Sparf, Norwegian Forestry Agency

This year's damage from the spruce bark drill can be compared to the forest fires in 2018. Two million cubic meters of forest were destroyed then.

- A fire or storm can overnight cause enormous damage to forests.

The spruce bark borer's effects are slower, but just as devastating to many forest owners.

I feel that this year's inventory reinforces the image of a natural disaster in slow motion, says Kerstin Ström, project manager for Stop the Borers at the Norwegian Forestry Agency in a press release.

Learn more about the spruce bark borer in the clip above.