In Canada this insect has not been found to have moved more than several kilometres from its point of origin at Point Pleasant Park. The BSLB could be of particular concern in healthy mature trees of red spruce, which are conducive to the build up of insect populations. Controlling the BSLB over wide areas could be difficult and expensive. In general, chemical treatment, if it became possible and available, would be costly and labour intensive. Mechanical control would also be costly and labour intensive.
Red spruce is an extremely valuable resource for pulp and lumber production.
The characteristics of the tree make it very useful in the Maritime forest. It can tolerate the climate and the soils very well, and is tolerant of shade for decades if necessary. This makes it a major contributor to the Maritime forest industry, and any reduction in its availability would be a very important loss. Across Canada the establishment of the BSLB could cause widespread tree death that would be very disruptive to the forest-based industries, which are the largest industries in the Canadian economy. The BSLB would not directly prevent the regeneration of all spruce species in Canada as it prefers hosts over 20 cm in diameter.