In early June, I wrote about the potential for the Emerald Ash Borer to destroy all the trees along my street – which are ALL Ash trees.
At the time I wrote the article, one of the trees along the street was ’suspect’. But this lone tree has always deteriorated in the July/August period. For the past 4 years, its leaves turn brown and drop. By the end of August, it was mostly leafless. Since it seemed to be a different variety of ash, I attributed it to some disease.
Well, this year it didn’t leaf out in the spring and by May, it was sprouting an abundance of leaves along the trunk. 
This is usually a sign that a tree is in the last throes of life … or death as in this case.
Yesterday I noticed that some of the bark had been pulled away from the trunk. Sure enough, the tunnels made by the larva were visible. I wondered if this check had been made by fellow residents, or if indeed the city Parks & Rec folks had done it.
Then I looked at the trunk to see if I could see any of the “D-shaped” exit holes that the adult female makes after she lays her eggs. It wasn’t hard to find the hole as it was larger than I expected.
OH, DRAT!!!
This is just so sad. Our trees have been growing for 12 years, and our street trees have begun to form a canopy over the street. I suppose it won’t be long until I come home some day to find all the trees gone. Then we’ll have to start all over with new little saplings planted by the city.
To learn more about the Emerald Ash Borer, the Department of Natural Resources is a good web site for complete information.
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Elaine Reese
614-825-8860Real Living HER
4 responses so far ↓
Sharon Hains // 05/12/2008 at 5:10 pm |
We have an Ash tree in our backyard that is dead except for 2 small branches. We are just wondering if their is somewhere we need to report this.
elainereese // 05/12/2008 at 5:43 pm |
Not sure where you live Sharon. Here we can report it to the local city Parks & Rec Dept. You might also contact the State Dept of Natural Resources. They have a procedure for proper disposal so the eggs and larvae are contained.
Allison // 07/29/2009 at 1:09 pm |
I just wanted to leave a comment to encourage you and others in your same position to encourage the city to start planting a larger variety of trees along streets. Most neighborhoods have only one or two species planted in the entire neighborhood – causing diseases or infestations like this one to completely devastate entire streets/neighborhoods. If they had selected 4 other species instead of just one, only 1/4 of the trees would need to be removed and replaced – lessen the visual and financial impacts.
Elaine Reese // 07/29/2009 at 2:28 pm
Thanks for the good advice and for stopping by my blog.
In my neighborhood, there have been multiple types of trees planted. Unfortunately there was heavy use of Ash trees due to the pleasing shape and shade they offer. So some of the street trees won’t be affected but when they get around to replacing the Ash trees, we’ll have tiny saplings next to 15-yr old trees.
Hindsight is always 20-20. Who knew a tiny bug could be so destructive without any option for control.