EAB invasion nears NY

[frashdog]

Emeral ash bore has been found in Montreal,QC and south near the Canadian/NY border. I'm an hour south of Montreal, Champlain Valley in the Adirondacks, NY. We got lots of ash!

We thought the eab was going to come up NY from the south It has been found recently in penn.

I've contacted arborjet, I like thier products. Thinking about the delux kit delux kit, maybe Please give me any likes dislikes about their products?

My questions are buisness related really, especially from you guys treating this in your areas.

How do you price per tree? Like. How much product is used per tree? How much time spent per tree?

I want to be able to provide services for individual residential trees and also be able to dive into thousand tree contracts. Did I mention we have alot of ash trees around here?

 

[ATH]

I am not a fan of ArborJet's Tree-Age for a few reasons:
*Limited research - a couple of studies (conducted on golf courses where they likely apply imidacloprid for grubs...) is not convincing.
*You must injure every year the tree to care for it...
*Cost - last I saw the chemical cost for Emmamectin was $4.50 per inch of diameter.

I am using soil drench of imidalcloprid ("Quli-Pro" brand of the 2F formulation). The key is start treating the trees ahead of infestation and treat every year. The challenge then is convincing people to invest in that before it shows up in the immediate area.

Research I have been reading shows soil drench is as effective as injection. The product I am buying costs $0.90 per inch. I am charging 3.00 or 3.50 per inch depending on number and size of trees to be treated. For bigger treatment contracts I am closer to $2.75. You can buy imidacloprid at Lowes for about $1.80 per inch. I also like Safari, but I am not as comfortable with that on thicker barked trees. Cost is similar and application is much cheaper (just because quicker=less labor cost).

From a "business" standpoint I am (as always) trying to be completely honest with clients and potential clients:
*You can treat the tree yourself for 1.80 per inch. The product I use puts a little more chemical in the soil than the label for the product you buy allows...
*Lets figure out which trees are "worth" treating. How badly would you miss it if it dies? Is it healthy enough (absent EAB) to justify saving? etc...
*We have only been researching this bug for 6 years - you want your trees to last for 30-40 years right? As of now the research doesn't exist for me to promise this will work for 40 years, and I'd be lying if I said it does. Based on what we know so far and based on bronze birch borer management I can tell you that I think this will work and we will adapt over the years if research dictates such. (Another reason for me to use imidacloprid - it has a proven track record with Agrilus spp.)

I have found that people still want to hire me to treat their trees.

Amount of product per tree depends on tree size and the product you are using. Look at the labels, use the higher ends of the rates and figure out the price per inch.

Time per tree: on individual trees I dig around the base to expose the root collar with a plastic shovel then drench away. Probably 15-20 minutes per tree. On larger contracts I will expose the root collar with the air knife and plan to spend 5 minutes per tree.

Everybody has their preferences...these are mine. I am not saying this is better than anybody elses, just what works for me and I think it is the best deal for my clients.

 

[frashdog]

Thats the info I'm looking for, pros cons alternatives.

I'm a techy kinda guy so the arbor-jet systems just kinda resonate with me.

The cost of tree-age(emamectin,not for use here anyways) is about $1.60/inch. $525/liter that is good for 33 trees at 10" or 330". Hope my math is right?

The IMA-jet (imidacloprid) is $385/liter for 25trees @10"= $1.54/inch

ATH what equipment (investment) do you have for your soil drench of imidalcloprid?

I'm very interested in all the alternatives/options. What's your most effective pitch/advertisement when selling treatments?

thank you

 

[ATH]

For Tree-age...the chart on thelabel shows about 10ml per inch of diameter for the medium-high rate. So that is 100 inches out of a liter. I think you are setting yourself up for less than desirable results if you try to skimp on the chemical.

I like toys too...but I like being profitable more (mostly so I can buy more toys ). I just don't see where the Arborjet system pays - though it may look "more provessional" to the homeowner...

As for the tools I use for soil drench: small plastic (because metal is more likely to damage bark) gardening shovel; water supply on truck; measuring spoons; jug to mix chemical with water. I do have a Kioritz soil injector that I bought when I first started to treat the ash. However, the research is showing soil drench at the root collar is better than soil injection so it looks like that was a waste of money (at least for EAB treatments).

The best "sales pitch" for me is telling somebody to drive 30 mintues north and notice that EVERY ash tree is dead or dying... EAB is coming. Decide what you want to happen. Sometimes I feel like I am trying to talk folks out of treatment - I want them to know that they either sign up for the long-haul or plan on the tree dying...no middle ground. I think I have closed on about 80-85% of my sales pitches.