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“Green ash appears to be one of their most favorite hosts,” McCullough says. “White ash is the other common landscape species and it’s less preferred, but they’ll certainly move to white ash, especially as the green ash trees start to die.” Even in the trees more susceptible to housing EAB, it’s hard to identify a new infestation because the tree won’t show symptoms for years. By the time an infestation is found in a new area, EAB might have lived in that tree for four to eight years. “If you don’t peel all the bark off the tree, you wouldn’t know that anything was going on,” McCullough says of an early invasion. “It’s only when the population of ash borers on the tree builds up that you start to see the canopy become thin, branches will start to die, you may start to see bark cracks. Woodpeckers are a really good early warning sign. The woodpeckers will feed on the large larvae usually in the winter time and the early part of the spring.” The problem is if one tree is infested, many around it could be, too. The beetle can fly, for up to half a mile.Ash trees within an already quarantined country are probably at risk.
Sponsored Content Lawn and Landscape Marketing on a BudgetDigital marketing can feel overwhelming when you’re working with a limited budget. Websites, SEO, social media, and paid ads can quickly add up, but you don’t need to do everything to see results. By focusing on cost-effective strategies, you can still make a big impact without overspending.
Sponsored Content Lawn and Landscape Marketing on a BudgetDigital marketing can feel overwhelming when you’re working with a limited budget. Websites, SEO, social media, and paid ads can quickly add up, but you don’t need to do everything to see results. By focusing on cost-effective strategies, you can still make a big impact without overspending. “There are actually insecticide products that you can inject into the tree or you can apply them to the soil and let the tree take them up,” McCullough says. “There is one product you can apply by spraying the lower three or four feet of the trunk.” Most products need to be applied once a year. But an insecticide containing the active ingredient emamectin benzoate is controlling EAB 99 percent of the time for two years. “Other products are getting better,” McCullough says. “They’re improving in terms of figuring out how much has to be applied per year. We’re learning that spring is the best time to apply insecticides. Usually bigger trees can be harder to protect than smaller trees. It’s not really simple, but there are certainly effective products now.” The author is associate editor of Lawn & Landscape. She can be reached at clawell@gie.net. |
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