Arborist Watches EAB Advance in County

Andrew Hartman

Andrew Hartman, I.S.A. certified arborist and owner of Acorn Tree Service, has identified two new Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) finds in the towns of Egg Harbor and Sturgeon Bay.

Hartman calculates that the Egg Harbor find is from human movement of ash firewood. He notes that the Emerald Ash Borer has moved almost seven miles in two years from its point of origin near Crossroads of Big Creek in Sturgeon Bay. Hartman has found EAB on Bay Shore Drive near George Pinney County Park.

The Town of Sturgeon Bay EAB find is not a new infestation. The 2014 Sturgeon Bay EAB population has simply expanded into the Town of Sturgeon Bay.

Hartman predicts there will be many more new finds of EAB, predicting new infestations will pop up all over the county in the next one to three years. New populations of EAB will be found because of the large quantity of standing dead EAB-infested ash trees in Sturgeon Bay and Gibraltar. This wood can be legally moved and sold in the county. Hartman thinks the firewood supply has most likely been contaminated heavily with EAB for the last two seasons.

What should Door County residents do about EAB?

EAB is fatal to white ash, yellow/green ash and black ash. Residents are not required to anything, but options are to preemptively remove live ash trees, treat trees with insecticide or do nothing and wait for ash trees to die.

Hartman encourages residents with ash trees that are key to their landscape to treat them for EAB soon. Currently there is not an economically feasible way to treat every ash tree in the woods with insecticide. Hartman states that treatments are very effective if the insecticides are used before EAB enters the neighborhood. Some certified arborists in the county are doing free EAB treatment plans.

For more information visit emeraldashborer.info.