beetle topping of my spruce - my husband wants to use chemicals. Help!

My husband wants to spray chemicals and I need to present him with another option.  Please see attached photos.  It's a dwarf spruce.  My other 32 spruce (Baby Blues) all look fine, but I don't want this to spread.  I know they are susceptible because my neighbors have reported having this problem with their spruce.  What else can we do for them?  Of course prevention would be best.  But what should I do with this one that has been attacked?  Located in Driggs ID at 6500 ft.  Hot and dry in summer and cold in winter and always windy.

Hello Alison!


I have used diatomaceous earth to kill and repel insects.  I have not tried it on beetles but I have used it on ants, fleas and lice.   I have found it to be tremendously effective.  I would probably give the affected area a heavy dusting of diatomaceous earth.  It is pretty cheap.  I might give the other trees a treatment too just to be proactive.

I would also do whatever I could to improve the overall health of the trees.   You can put nutrient rich mulch in the area around the tree.  That will make the soil healthier and gently give the tree more nutrients.   The parasites will attack the weakest ones.   So make all the trees stronger and they will have more of an ability to fight off the beetles.  
I have a forest of ponderosa pine.  The pine bark beetles came through my area a few years ago.  I lost only the weak trees.   The strong healthy trees are doing fine.  


Here is a link to the Diatomaceous earth:
https://www.azurestandard.com/shop/product/outdoor-garden/gardening-supplies/diatomaceous-earth/diatomaceous-earth-codex-grade/7664?package=GP009

Beneficial nematodes and BT (Bacillus Thurengensis) would be my first thoughts. I would also ask him what the point of gardening is if we are just going to spread poisons all around our yard and home. Most basic cellular processes are shared by all living things, and so most chemicals that hurt one species harm us all.