CARROLL COUNTY, Ga. — A once-in-a-decade pest is attacking Georgia's trees and causing millions of dollars of damage - but it's nearly impossible to see the threat.
For Clint Backstrom's family in Carroll County, their pine trees brought peace.
"Just the beautiful scenery we get to live in. The reason we came out here is the tall beautiful trees," he said.
He found rest in their shade, but now the southern pine beetle is eating away at that comfort.
"This is where we first started to notice the trees were dying," he pointed out. "But it's hard to fight something you can't see."
The Backstroms had to bring in the experts at the Georgia Forestry Commission who cut straight to the point.
"The southern pine beetles are some of the most destructive native pests we have," said Georgia Forestry Commission Forest Health Coordinator Paul McDaniel.
If you're walking in the woods, the southern pine beetle can be difficult to spot. They're tiny, smaller than a grain of rice, but the damage they cause is enormous. According to the Georgia Forestry Commission, its cost the state $254 million in damages over the past 50 years.
"Then they'll keep moving from tree to tree through the woods and keep causing damage until there's no more pine trees left," said McDaniel.
The invasions happen every six to 12 years in the southeast, killing thousands of trees. This year, it’s worse than ever.
"We've bucked that trend for the last 10 years, our last big outbreak was in the late 90's, early 2000s, so we were a little overdue for it, but it can happen at any time," McDaniel explained.
He explained that the beetles overwhelm the tree, carving S shaped tracks under the bark and leaving a blue stain behind and killing each tree in their path.
The Georgia Forestry Commission starting an assistance program to help homeowners recover from an infestation and financial devastation.
"It costs about $1,000 dollars if we want to go in, per tree!" Backstrom exclaimed. "I hate that we are losing trees, but I hope by doing this we can get some awareness of it and help people save their trees before we get too far."
The Georgia Forestry Commission says the best way to stop the spread of the southern pine beetle is to thin out the trees on the property as it's hard for the small beetle to get from one tree to the next if they're far apart. The space also gives healthy trees room to thrive.
To learn more about them, click here.