EAB is finally here! Quarentine to be put in place

[Powerstroke]

The Emerald Ash Borer is finally here. It was discovered by professional arborists in St. Paul and has been confirmed by the MN Dept. Of Ag.

A quarantine on ash wood products and plant stock will be put in place for Hennepin and Ramsey Counties. A plan for dealing with the pest locally hasn't been released yet, but typically it involves cutting down every ash tree with 1/4 mile of the infestation for testing and to prevent the spread.

For those who haven't heard about it there is an amazing amount of information about this since it became such a problem out east. MN has the second largest population of ash trees in the country because of our abundant wild population. Millions of trees have been removed out east and as close as Chicago since the EAB was discovered. Unfortunately this pest will change our local landscape far worse than Dutch Elm disease did.

[nofishfisherman]

From what I have read and heard on the news it sounds like the EAB has been here for 4-5 years based on the damage the trees are showing.

It takes several years for symptoms to show up in the trees so it can make it hard to treat the problem. If you are able to catch it early on there are treatment options available so make sure to be dilligent on checking your ash trees.

The first sign to show up I guess is small D shapes holes in the bark and an increase in woodpecker activity.

[Powerstroke]

The damage is the big kicker. Once the boring has damaged the vascular system of the tree and the wilting has started its almost too late.

Injections into the tree or root injections are the way to treat it if you catch it.

It will never be eradicated, but control will be important to keep this from spreading up north where the native ash trees live and populated a large majority of the landscape.