The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is munching its way across the eastern half of North America, leaving dead trees and too little shade in its wake. Since this tiny green beetle is an invasive species, with no natural predators on this continent, any ash tree is likely to become infested.
Is It An Ash?
To determine whether your trees are at risk, you need to know they're the right (or wrong) kind. Ash trees are easy to identify. First, check the way the branches are formed. Ash branches grow in pairs, on the opposite side of the trunk. If the branches are staggered, it's a different species of tree.
All ash trees have compound leaves consisting of a series of leaflets growing on a single stem. These leaflets will be arranged in pairs, with one more leaflet at the end of the stem. There will be from five to nine leaflets on each leaf. If all your trees have single leaves or compound leaves with less than five leaflets, you don't have ash trees.
What Happens Now?
What if your favorite shade tree happens to be an ash? Is it doomed? Not necessarily. The first thing to do is check for symptoms. These include dead leaves and branches in the crown of the tree, which create gaps in the shade canopy. EAB larvae chew S-shaped tunnels just under the bark, which cuts off the flow of water to the upper part of the tree.
The damage to the upper branches also starves the tree of the energy normally collected by leaves. It responds to this by trying to grow more branches, either from branch forks lower down the trunk or as suckers that spring directly from the roots. Any new growth should be investigated.
Other symptoms include splits or D-shaped holes in the bark. Woodpeckers eat the larvae of boring insects, so any unusual woodpecker activity may mean trouble.
Treatment Options
If your trees are still free of the Emerald Ash Borer, there are insecticide treatments that can keep the pests away. Measure the diameter of your tree four-and-one-half-feet above the ground. If it's less than 20 inches, the tree is small enough to treat yourself.
Home treatment can be done with over the counter pesticides poured into a trench that surrounds the tree. Be sure to follow all directions and cautions. These are powerful chemicals and could harm you or the tree if used incorrectly.
Larger trees need professional treatment, using insecticides and equipment not available to homeowners. If treatment is going to be long-term and costly, you may even want to consider whether it might be better to remove the ash tree and plant something different instead. If you're interested in finding out more, visit sites like http://treesculptors.com.
Share12 May 2015
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