The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is the fastest growing threat to North American trees.  All ash trees are susceptible to EAB, a bug that tends to kill 99% of ash trees it attacks in 3 to 4 years.  The best thing to do is schedule a tree evaluation with Bob the Arborist.

How to manage EAB and its impact on your ash trees comes down to two choices – protect the tree with systemic insecticide ash tree treatments or have your tree removed.

For trees with a DBH (diameter at breast height) greater than 15 inches, you need to hire a licensed applicator to make trunk injections of pesticides containing emamectin benzoate.  Emamectin benzoate provides two years of protection.

It is still not permitted to move ash wood outside of Illinois state lines.  Moving firewood, in general, is a bad practice, so don’t do it.  Contact your local officials for their landscape waste disposal site.

Ensure the safety of others and yourself by removing an ash tree as soon as possible after its death.

IDENTIFYING EAB:

• The tree will start to show dead branches throughout the canopy, resulting in leaf loss.
• The tree may have new growth at the base of the tree trunk.
• Vertical splits in the bark.