How do I get into EAB Treatment/Prevention?

[corndogg]

Hi all. EAB has hit Minneasota and suprised me and many others. I've been asked to treat un infected ash trees to prevent infestation. I've read about Xytect mostly and it looks like a good place to start.

Questions:

Xytect 2F or 75WSP?

Can I rig a lawn spray rig 300 gallon for soil injection use?

If not, what is the minimum equipment?

Pesticide license is required I imagine?

What other treatments are being used?

Any that last more than a year?

What's the best, cheapest place to get chemical?

One site has around a hundred ash, all in good condition from 4" to 20". I would treat all if were mine. They want to treat only half maybe to keep cost down. Seems foolish to me. Which would you treat?

Thanks in advance,
Jamie

 

[Urban Forester]

I have no experience w/Xytect, so I can't help you there. I have however injected about 10,000 trees in 20 years w/everything from growth regulators and fruit reduction products to insecticides and fungicides. My experience w/EAB dates back to 1998 and I've logged about 2,500 Ash injections. I've used mostly imidicloprid as Arbor Jet's Ima-Jet (5%) soil injection (10%) Mauget Imicide (35%) and Arbor Systems wedgle (50%). I have found soil injection to be the least effective. I believe 3 factors play into that, 1-EAB hits first in the 3/4" branches, I don't believe soil injection by itself gets a high enough PPM into those branches for control. 2- Most of the time soil injection units go too deep, below the primary roots that are capable of moving the product. Remember this is not about "translocation", as much as it is systemic absorbtion (soil injections, I believe should be done no deeper than 3"). 3- Imidicloprid binds VERY readily to the soil keeping it from the tree. I would seriously look into trunk injection w/Imidicloprid or Emamectin Benzoate. Also important note: A sprayer used for lawn care MAY have had herbicide in it. If it did, it needs to cleaned out w/a product that breaks down the fatty acids in herbicide like Lesco-sol. As far as which trees to treat, the biggest mistake that has been made w/EAB is spreading resources to thin, YOU CAN'T SAVE EVERYTHING. Concentrate on high value Ash and use ALL your efforts in those trees keeping the PPM as high in the tree as you can. You will find that this borer is like no other, it's population will literally explode w/o any natural predators. We have a 115 year old Ash that gets the following treatment: Trunk injected in late May w/Imidicloprid, sprayed w/Onyx (Bifenthrin w/a bark penatrant) in mid June around flight time of the adults (the females feed on leaves for 7 days before laying eggs) and then fertilized in the fall. We run a focused program for high value Ash and have well over 200 alive and well in "ground zero" of the infestation. Good luck, you're going to need it.

 

[ATH]

Hi all. EAB has hit Minneasota and suprised me and many others. I've been asked to treat un infected ash trees to prevent infestation. I've read about Xytect mostly and it looks like a good place to start.

Questions:

Xytect 2F or 75WSP?

I use another formulation of Imidacloprid. I prefer 2F flavor - it is easier to measure the amount as I do soil drench and mix for each individual tree.

Can I rig a lawn spray rig 300 gallon for soil injection use?

If not, what is the minimum equipment?

Best results (all similar success rates...) have come from basal drench of imidacloprid, trunk injection of imidacloprid, and trunk injection of tree-age. None of that requires much equipment. I use the spray rig tank to haul water around... Soil injection is less effective than simply digging a small trench around the base of a tree and pouring the stuff in it. I am biased against drilling holes into a tree every year (or every other year) for perpetuity.

Edit to add: forgot to mention Safari. I think this is a great option for smaller trees with smooth/thin bark. Once the bark starts to get thick, you are going to have less getting through...

Also wanted to add: whatever you use go with the maximum labeled rate.

One more edit: Dan Herms of OSU recommended treating trees over 15" dbh twice if you are using imidacloprid soil drench.

Pesticide license is required I imagine?

I work in a different state, but I think that is a pretty safe assumption that you need a license. You will also likely need specific insurance.

Any that last more than a year?

Tree-age lasts 2 years. It is MUCH more expensive and I am not a fan beacause you have to injure the tree every other year to treat it.

One site has around a hundred ash, all in good condition from 4" to 20". I would treat all if were mine. They want to treat only half maybe to keep cost down. Seems foolish to me. Which would you treat?

Seems foolish to me to treat that many trees on a single site. And likely illegal --- most insecticides are going to have a maximum pounds of active ingerdient per acre. You can'd do that many trees and stay legal unless you are talking about a huge site. One work around could be to treat some trees with one chemical and others with another chemical. The reason I say it seems foolish to treat that many is because chances are there are a lot of trees that are in bad shape with or without EAB. Look at the big picture. "Is this tree worth investing $1000 over the next several years." Treat the best remove/replace the rest. Not knowing the site...but I'd try to find as many as possible to find for removal and only treat the ones that are really worth saving. Maybe start with 50ish. Plant 60-70 new trees with the intention of removing another 20ish of the ash as the new trees get some size to them over the next 10-15 years. So at the end of the day, plan on really keeping 20ish trees for the long-term.

Thanks in advance,
Jamie

Lot of options out there. Read enough to separate fact from opinion.... For example, the facts in my reply are:
**That imidacloprid soil drench (at the base of the tree) and tree-age have similar performance rates in a wide range of studies (you can find a single study here and a single study there that shows one is better than another...)
**I assume the state requirements are similar accross the country.

The rest is opinion so take that for whatever it is worth. I'd be happy to clarify anything if it doesn't make sense...

 

[hokiewheeler]

We use imidacloprid soil drench in EAB treatment. The company I work for started doing this about 2 years ago and OSU has recognized this method as a treatment. Most of our clients are on a treatment program and are getting foliar insecticide treatments as well.

 

[garthpro]

Eficacy of treatments?

I am in dublin oh and have about 30 trees on 2 acres. some very large, some not.
I am wondering if anyone in my region has experience with one treatment over another. I have been reading every study I can find and none seem to point to one being better than another, except that the product of the one who funds the study is usually found to be a little better, go figure!
Anyone with hands on experience? I can't lose these bigboys. I have years of experience with chemicals, growing up on a large crop farm in western ohio, so I plan to treat myself.

garth