Is This the Emerald Ash Borer?

[soloz2]

Here are some pictures of trees I had treated vs trees that were not treated 2 years ago.
2 years ago, I had 4 trees treated. 3 are doing amazing, and the 4th is barely hanging on. We went back and forth on treating it or not, but the arborist we hired said we could try both an injection and a bark spray. He threw in both bark spray and injection on the one next to it that was also hanging on, bringing the total to 5 trees treated. I figure in 2 years if the 4th and 5th come back great, if not I'll take them down and we will just keep up on the other 3. The two that are hanging on I need to rent a cherry picker to take down some dead leaders and branches. I also posted a picture of all the other ash trees that we did not treat for comparison.

From my understanding, treatment is never guaranteed and works better if you can treat sooner rather than later. It is also something that has to be done every 2-3 years and is a decent financial investment that may not make sense for many people.

 

[kenmbz]

I hope the ones you treated survive, I figure the borers have to thin out eventually with all the Ash dying.

Most of the ones I had to take out were around 100' and 26-36 " diameter.
Really hurts to see the big gaps in the woods.

 

[Woody912]

I tried treating a few larger trees about 2 years ago, had to remove them this year.
Once the bugs start coming out it seems like it was too late.

I have successfully treated some trees that showed early signs of infestation. Imacloroprid at .4 oz per inch of dbh

 

[FrugalFirewoodDad]

Do the EAB bother other trees? Ash in our neighborhood are all dead and most are down. I have a bunch of chestnut oak, a couple red oak, and some hickory I'd sure like to keep.

 

[uniballer]

Some researchers say that there are secondary hosts (e.g. Chionanthus), but it is unclear if these alternative hosts could sustain a significant population. They might just die out in an area if Fraxinus became unavailable.

 

[kenmbz]

Pretty scary to think about, but so far they have not touched the other trees, that I can see.

 

[Lightning Performance]

Pretty scary to think about, but so far they have not touched the other trees, that I can see.

It appears they might be jumping on black walnuts in my area. Need to get a limb and see what is killing those with the same vigor as ash borer bugs kill ash trees. I removed one or more from these properties year and two ago almost completely dead white ash.

 

[Mad Professor]

I had a lot of ash on my property most is gone now.

There are a few trees, one is in a field by my garden that seemed to have been either lightly infested or have came back. I'm leaving those in hopes they will survive as seed trees, perhaps even have some natural resistance to the borer.

 

[Woody912]

Here are some pictures of trees I had treated vs trees that were not treated 2 years ago.
2 years ago, I had 4 trees treated. 3 are doing amazing, and the 4th is barely hanging on. We went back and forth on treating it or not, but the arborist we hired said we could try both an injection and a bark spray. He threw in both bark spray and injection on the one next to it that was also hanging on, bringing the total to 5 trees treated. I figure in 2 years if the 4th and 5th come back great, if not I'll take them down and we will just keep up on the other 3. The two that are hanging on I need to rent a cherry picker to take down some dead leaders and branches. I also posted a picture of all the other ash trees that we did not treat for comparison.

From my understanding, treatment is never guaranteed and works better if you can treat sooner rather than later. It is also something that has to be done every 2-3 years and is a decent financial investment that may not make sense for many people.

I treat mine every year, imacloroprid drench for about $5

 

[Woody912]

It appears they might be jumping on black walnuts in my area. Need to get a limb and see what is killing those with the same vigor as ash borer bugs kill ash trees. I removed one or more from these properties year and two ago almost completely dead white ash.

everything I have ever read said they only attack ash trees, black walnut has its own pests

 

[Lightning Performance]

everything I have ever read said they only attack ash trees, black walnut has its own pests

I read all that also and watched them kill a maple tree last year that was in the patch of ash trees now removed.

 

[Marine5068]

Folks, thanks for your replies. I am going to ring the bark off the trees over the next couple of weeks so that they die and then cut them down and turn them into firewood. Serious bummer....the larger tree in the pics used to provide welcome shade in the summer months and now it is a skeleton of what it used to be. F-ing foreign bug killing off our trees.....lovely.

EAB has been here since about 1990.
Started in the Detroit area from uninspected wooden crates of automotive parts shipped from Asia and spread from there with no end in site except extinction of all of our Ash trees.

 

[Marine5068]

I have been taking down Ash for a few years. Now they are so brittle they have become too dangerous with branches dropping. I got many, many cords of firewood.
Take them down as soon as you see the D shaped holes, don't wait for them to die off.

I had quite a few split 5-30 feet up and twist to fall against the lean, so don't count on them falling ok.

The ones I left are in the woods. I stay away from them.

I had a few barberchair so started using only bore cuts.
Be careful felling these if you havn't worked on dead trees. Some of the trees were solid on one side and dust on the other, so quite unpredictable using regular cuts.

Very true Ken.
It's dangerous enough to drop trees that are healthy. These dead Ash are another deal altogether. I've been cutting them for folks around Southern Ontario for years now and I'd say that once you see the tops of the tree dying off, get it cut down. Don't wait until the branches start dropping.
Safer that way.

 

[Lightning Performance]

Very true Ken.
It's dangerous enough to drop trees that are healthy. These dead Ash are another deal altogether. I've been cutting them for folks around Southern Ontario for years now and I'd say that once you see the tops of the tree dying off, get it cut down. Don't wait until the branches start dropping.
Safer that way.

Two almost got me on the ground that chaired. I've stopped climbing them unless two thirds is still alive and a safe path up is available. I walk away no shame in needing a lift and they won't pay. No my problem not being a certified arborist has it perks

 

[Bubster]

Keep in mind too that ash killed by the borer will rot faster than just a tree that died. And as others have said, never try to wedge a dead ash or push with a tractor bucket.

 

[Lightning Performance]

Two almost got me on the ground that chaired. I've stopped climbing them unless two thirds is still alive and a safe path up is available. I walk away no shame in needing a lift and they won't pay. No my problem not being a certified arborist has it perks
Edit: 10:10pm
Those just off the farm trees...
The trees that chaired were only 22" and bore cut heavy. they still exploded when the hinge broke and one kept the 066 and I went. It spit twenty five to thirty feet straight up instantaneously came right back down horizontal and missed the saw. Was standing right there three seconds earlier. Two outs always and I go quickly. Forest trees not yard trees. It was already clear in front of it and around it, doesn't matter.

 

[cookies]

Sounds safer to notch it and use tannerite or dynamite to knock'm down if in the woods away from buildings.

 

[Breckinridge Elkins]

So answer me this... If you leave standing trees to die, or pile up the logs, aren't you just breeding more bugs?

 

[mark3885]

The EAB only attacks live trees , they eat the cambium layer under the bark eventually girdling the tree. Dead trees won’t don’t hold the EAB very long after their food source is gone.

 

[ATpro]

So answer me this... If you leave standing trees to die, or pile up the logs, aren't you just breeding more bugs?

A lot of good advice on this thread but one shouldn't wait till the tree is dead once it is infected to remove it. It is only a breeding ground for more bugs till it is removed or no longer useful for the bug. In a forest setting where many trees are infected treating is not economical, it should be removed and milled, or destroyed by burning to prevent any farther spread. Leaving the tree to die only allows the nursery to mature and seek a new home. If in a residential setting, treating may save the tree and the cost may be worth the effort.