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It's official! The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is now in Lancaster County, confirmed by the Pennsylvania Department of Natural Resources. See this map. It's been coming for many years, starting in Michigan in 2002 and crossing into Butler County by 2007.
If you've been on our mailing list for a while, you know
we've done our best to keep you informed of its approach.
ISA Board Certified Master Arborist Ben Tresselt III, president
of Arborist Enterprises, spoke about EAB on WGAL last week.
You can view the video here.
With all the reports about this in the local papers and on TV, we thought
we should answer some common questions about EAB:
WHY HAVE SOME PARKS AND CITIES
BEEN CUTTING DOWN HEALTHY TREES?
Unfortunately, infestation of ash trees in our county is inevitable,
and eventually all unprotected trees will die. Preemptive steps
are being taken, with the idea that there will be some recovery
of cost due to the value of the timber. While some trees must be
destroyed, we advocate a more balanced approach.
CAN MY ASH TREES BE SAVED?
If you are a property owner with ash trees in high-value locations, treatment is the better option, and is certainly less costly than removal in the short term. Treatment drastically improves the odds that your ash tree will live for many more years.
WHAT IS THE TREATMENT?
Arborist Enterprises provides treatments to protect ash trees that have not yet been attacked by the larvae of the emerald ash borer or are in the early stages of infestation. Emerald ash borer control applications are either injected into the soil around the base of the tree or injected directly into the trunk of the tree.
WILL ANY UNTREATED ASH TREES SURVIVE?
Once infested with EAB, an ash tree stands NO chance of surviving without treatment, and will die completely in three to four years—sometimes less. Earlier treatment is better: it gives ash trees time to adjust and benefit from a stronger resistance to EAB infestation.
Spring and fall are the best seasons for EAB preventive treatments, and the urgency has never been higher than it is right now.
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