Pine beetles pose no problem for brambles.

Knowing which beetle would be key as the term "pine beetle" is much too general. Failing that, at least knowing what part of the country you are in would narrow things down a bit.

Are the beetles carrying disease (your last question) or are they trashing the vascular system under the bark or something else?

tj

if you remove the trees... you remove the beetles.. and there is NO DISEASE ...

i simply dont understand your equation ....

once removed.. you remove the host.. the pine ... so 99.9999% of the time all the bug and disease problems go away ....

then of course.. there is the other .0001% of the time .... and i am guessing.. that is what concerns you?????

on those odds.. GO FOR IT ....

ken

Thanks so much for the replies! I'm in California, zone 9b. I can't remember the name of the disease but within 3 years our row of about 20 tall pine trees are turning brown, have stuff coming out of holes all over the trunk (looks like fungus) and in really strong wind occasionally fall down.

Even though my pine trees will be gone when I cut them down, there will still be stumps and my neighbors still have pine trees pretty nearby. I just don't want to plant berries if they will be doomed!

Sounds like (as you said) one of the Pine Beetles varieties. They kill pines by excavating little channels that interrupt the vascular activity of the trees.

The stuff coming out of the holes is frass or a combination of frass and pitch.

These beetles are devastating to pines and other conifers, not brambles. Those will come with their own problems. ;-)

Your best source of information is your local University of California Cooperative Extension Service office.

Here is a link that might be useful: About Pine beetles