Emerald Ash Borer - For Homeowners
by David Steg on 10/14/14
With the arrival of the emerald ash borer and its potential threat to ash trees, the goal of any urban forest is to achieve tree diversity. No one more than 20 percent of one kind of tree should comprise the total urban forest population. Diversity should be planned for both public and private landscapes.
UW-Extension has developed a detailed list of landscape trees for consideration in the planting of the urban forest. View lists of replacement trees.
Whenever making the choices for emerald ash borer (EAB) prevention and management decisions, homeowners and commercial industries should review the latest decision-making tools available to them. University research results suggest that some treatment products and methods are effective when made appropriately, although there is some uncertainty of the long term effectiveness.
Is My Ash Tree Worth Treating For Emerald Ash Borer?.
If you have an EAB-infested tree that you would like to use as firewood, be aware that EAB can continue to emerge from the wood for two years after cutting. To avoid spreading EAB, split and leave the wood to age near where you cut the tree for two summers. After two years of drying, EAB that may have been within the wood will have emerged or died. The aged firewood poses little risk of introducing EAB and you may move it freely within the limits of the quarantine.
