Options Outlined at EAB Meeting

“Emerald Ash Borer is here and it will be here to stay as long as there is an Ash tree alive.”

That was the one of the takeaways from an informational meeting that about 75 people attended at Crossroads at Big Creek on June 24, a meeting that was called after the June 10 discovery of EAB in Door County, making it the 22nd county in Wisconsin placed under quarantine since EAB was first discovered in the state in 2008.

Linda Williams, forest health specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, delivered the bulk of the information on the invasive insect and what can be done.

“I don’t want people to forget that these trees are going to die,” she said. She illustrated her talk with scenes of devastation in other areas where the Emerald Ash Borer has taken up residence.

She described it as a “sneaky insect” that surreptitiously hitchhikes into new areas and then kills Ash trees by doing its dirty work under cover of the Ash’s bark.

Those attending the meeting ranged from homeowners with a few Ash on their property to some with Ash plantations, to county and municipal officials who wanted more information on the infestation.

Williams said there are three options for those with Ash on their property:

• Do nothing and let nature take its course.

• Remove the Ash trees.

• Treat the Ash with chemicals.

While Williams said chemical treatment has a 97 to 100 percent effective rate in killing EAB, “It can get expensive to treat those trees.”

There are two kinds of application, Williams said. The homeowner can buy a chemical that is applied to the tree roots, but she said with the thin soil and fractured bedrock of Door County, root application probably is not a good idea. The other option is to hire a certified applicator who injects the chemicals directly into the tree.

Two Door County certified applicators were represented at the program, Acorn Tree Service of Sturgeon Bay and Dave’s Tree Service of Egg Harbor.

Under the quarantine that was placed on the county, residents and affected businesses are restricted from moving any hardwood firewood, Ash nursery stock or Ash logs or timber out of the quarantine area. Ash material can be moved from the county if a compliance agreement is reached with the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

For more information on the Emerald Ash Borer, visit Wisconsin’s Emerald Ash Borer Source at datcpservices.wisconsin.gov/eab/index.jsp.