MENUThe warmer weather tells the emerald ash borer (EAB) that it’s almost time to crawl out of the tree they’re in and greet the big world outside. Since they hatched, these voracious pests have lived inside the trees where their mothers deposited their eggs, never seeing the light of day.It’s now time for them to morph into tiny, metallic green adults and dig “D” shaped holes to crawl out into the daylight. This generation of EAB is through eating. The adults’ sole task is to mate, scoop out indentations in ash tree bark and lay eggs so the scourge can start all over again.Some homeowners have just given up, certain that their valuable ash trees are destined to die from the emerald ash borer’s feast. Others are fighting back, determined to save their valuable trees.There is an effective preventive and treatment available to arborists. Before applying either, one of our plant health care professionals will inspect your ash tree(s) to see if the EAB has infested them yet and, if so, the amount of damage.A preventive should be applied every two years to trees that have, thus far, escaped the EAB. Trees hosting the EAB should be treated every year, as long 70 percent or more of the tree is alive. This material, as formulated, is only available to licensed, trained professionals, and we inject it directly into the tree trunk using special equipment..These treatments may appear to be a major investment at first. When you crunch the numbers, however, they represent a very cost effective insurance policy. Do-it-yourself products are not concentrated enough to be effective against this stubborn pest, so you would be wasting money to invest in them. Furthermore, professional treatments can be made for a good, long time for the cost of removing and replacing a stately ash tree. Doesn’t that look like a really good investment now?
