Beetles battle salt cedars in Arkansas River Valley: Tamarisk leaf beetles seen as effective way to knock back invasive plants the way nature intended. From: Pueblo Chieftain (Pueblo, Colorado) | Date: November 5, 2006 | COPYRIGHT 2006 The Pueblo Chieftain. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

Byline: Chris Woodka

Nov. 5--Imported beetles could provide a more natural, less expensive way to control tamarisk throughout the American West, and a few are already on the job in the Arkansas Valley.

Tamarisk leaf beetles, imported from the areas of central Asia where tamarisk originated, are seen by some as a way to knock back the trees by biological means.

"The beetles will never eradicate tamarisk, just suppress it," said Dan Bean, biocontrol ...