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Effective treatment for emerald ash borer?

Posted on May 15th, 2009 – 3:07 PM
By Connie Nelson

With the discovery of tree-killing emerald ash borers in St. Paul, many folks are wondering what — if anything — they can do to protect their ash trees. Here are some suggestions:

Keep trees healthy. Though the beetle can attack healthy trees, trees that are damaged or stressed by drought are more vulnerable.

Have your ash trees examined by a certified arborist.

If you have a tree with symptoms of emerald ash borer (signs of die-back in the canopy, slits in the bark), don’t attempt to treat it yourself. Treatments aimed at homeowners have not proven to be effective, according to John Lloyd, director of science and research for Rainbow Treecare.

If you decide to treat your ash tree, use a systemic treatment (one that get into the vascular system of the tree). Sprays have not proven effective against emerald ash borers, said Lloyd. 

Systemic treatments (either injected into the soil around the base of the tree or injected into the trunk of the tree) have prevented emerald ash borers from attacking some trees and killed borers in the early stages of infestion. 

If your ash tree has lost 30 percent of its canopy, it’s most likely too late to treat your tree. Â

This entry was posted on Friday, May 15th, 2009 at 3:07 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

5 Responses to "Effective treatment for emerald ash borer?"

JRod37 says:

May 15th, 2009 at 3:14 pm

I would expect someone from Rainbow Treecare, who wants you to buy their business and not DIY, to tell me that treatments aimed at homeowners have not proven to be effective. What I would NOT expect is that someone who claims to be somewhat of an expert to believe him.

Connie Nelson says:

May 15th, 2009 at 3:29 pm

JRod37,
The research is new — because the emerald ash borer is a fairly new problem — but most of the tree care experts I talked to have agreed on this. They’ve also agreed that it’s a waste of time and money to treat a tree that’s in the middle to late stages of infection.

NUChamps5 says:

May 15th, 2009 at 4:50 pm

I agree with Connie. I’ve heard testimony from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources on this issue, and they both seem to agree that there simply isn’t an established, proven technique to fight the beetle. We just have to work hard to not encourage it to spread (don’t transport firewood, don’t buy firewood with an unknown origin, etc), and look for early signs of infection. And if you think your tree is infected, call the DNR and Department of Agriculture immediately. They will confirm the infestation (if it exists) and give you the best scientific advice.

Bryan says:

May 15th, 2009 at 10:26 pm

This is a serious disease and my talks with the department of agriculture is like talking to a brick wall. All they can tell you about is the policies that they have in effect. They are a bunch of morons so believing that this flying insect is spread by movement of firewood is perposterous.

I have treated for many diseases effectively including a disease I consider much more dangerous called Verticillium wilt. Homeowners should know that treating your trees will save you a lot of money on removing trees. Companies that treat trees also remove trees so realize that people are trying to help.

And to answer to the comment about companies saying that a method you can pick up at home depot or another big box store is inneffective they are correct. The first thig you must know is the methods found with Bayer Chemicals that are base soaking methods are very expensive if you read the directions. Will often cost a similar amount as having a pro do the job. Secondly, the mix is full of inorganics that act as nothing but filler. This method makes it possible for someone without a pesticide applicators license to use the product. But similar results are found to fertilizers like scotts tree stakes. In the last week I have treated 4 ash trees that look half dead one year after use of scotts tree stakes.

Generally I think in these means. If you had the choice between getting a shot for a diease or soaking in a low dose of its antidote wich one would you find more effective?

If your tree is infected the chance of it surviving goes down dramatically. Pretreatments help build up a resistence to the disease.

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