August 19, 2008
Dear Gardening Friend:
You have asked us about protecting your ash trees from Emerald Ash Borer damage. Here are our best recommendations at this date.
Unless your home is within 15 miles of Newburg or Saukville – both east of West Bend where the ash borers were found- your trees are probably safe this year. The beetles travel slowly - about 2 miles per year unless aided by humans.
The best time to apply preventative insecticides is spring. It may be appropriate to treat important ash trees in spring of 2009. The protection travels up the tree slowly. Current research shows that treatment as much as two years ahead of the arrival of the ash borer may be helpful. Currently no known treatment is a sure preventative, but some treatments are promising.
At this time there does not appear to be a realistic treatment of a woodsy stand of ash trees - that is, a woods containing lots of ash trees. The cost of treatment is too high to treat a woodland.
More chemicals may become available for next year as everyone scurries to find a solution to the problem and as more chemicals become legal to use on this pest in the state of Wisconsin.
If infestations of ash borers are discovered within 15 miles of your home, you should certainly have your valuable ash trees treated in spring of 2009
In simple language - we do not recommend any treatment now. We will monitor the situation and make another recommendation at or before spring 2009. We are storing your inquiry and we will keep you informed.
Incidentally, there is an outbreak of Japanese Beetles in many Milwaukee area locations. These beetles are round and have a metallic sheen. They are sometimes mistaken for Emerald Ash Borer because they are both metallic in appearance. They can eat many varieties of plants quickly. Roses are among their favorites! Watch for plants with shredded or skeletonized leaves or flowers and look for the bugs themselves. If you find them, spray them with Sevin®, Merit (Bayer)®, or Triple Action® or call us to spray for you. These beetles will probably stop feeding by early September after they lay their eggs. If you find them this year, be sure to have control measures applied next year too.
If you would like more detailed information about we recommend you visit any of these sites:
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources – Emerald Ash Borer
Wisconsin’s Emerald Ash Borer Resource
Emerald Ash Borer – University of Wisconsin-Madison – Department of Entomology
Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP)
Emerald Ash Borer (Multi-state sponsored site) |
