Although they have not yet found their way to Mason, the emerald ash borer poses a significant threat to our native and landscape ash trees. Once an ash tree becomes infested with the beetle larvae, it dies within 2 to 5 years. Here are some facts about ash trees and information to help you identify whether you have ash trees on your property or in your neighborhood.

Scam Artists in Area

Treating your Trees

QUARANTINE IN EFFECT IN WARREN COUNTY

A quarantine on Warren County, which includes Mason, and other Ohio counties may mean it’s a little harder to find firewood this year.

Due to the presence of emerald ash borer (EAB) in other parts of the county, the Ohio Department of Agriculture has prohibited the movement of all non-coniferous firewood, ash trees, and all parts of ash trees out of quarantined areas. At least 31 counties across Ohio and Indiana are affected, as well as the entire state of Michigan.

Moving non-coniferous firewood or any ash tree material out of a quarantined area may result in fines of up to $4,000. The Emerald Ash Borer Task Force encourages everyone to buy firewood locally and burn what you buy.

Ash Trees

Green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica and white ash (also known as autumn purple ash and autumn applause) Fraxinus Americana are common trees throughout Ohio, where they have been planted in landscapes and rights of way. Although we have a neighboring community by the name, the blue ash is not commonly found in Ohio. Green ash are naturally found in floodplains or swampy areas. They grow 45 to 75 feet tall. White ash are typically found in moist upland sites and grow up to 115 feet tall.

It is important to know that even though some trees have “ash” in their name they are not true ash trees. These include the mountain ash and the prickly ash, which are not threatened by the emerald ash borer.

Identification

All ash trees have compound leaves, with 5 to 9 leaflets. Leaf stems and tree branches grow opposite each other (although some may have been lost over time). These trees also produce a fruit (called a samara) that grows 1 to 1.5 inches in the green ash and 2 to 3.5 inches in the white ash.

Ash trees are some of the first to change into their fall colors of yellow or purple. The trees have opposite buds and a diamond-shaped bark pattern on mature trees that will help identify it during the months after leaf drop.

Emerald Ash Borers

Emerald ash borer is an insect from Asia that is attacking the midwest’s ash trees. It is a member of the metallic wood-boring beetle family. It attacks all native North American ash trees, regardless of the tree’s health. Once an EAB infestation occurs, it kills the tree in three to five years.

EAB is believed to have arrived in the United States in shipping pallets or cargo from eastern Asia approximately 10 years before it was discovered. It was first identified in the Detroit, Michigan, area in July 2002 and then in Lucas County, Ohio, in February 2003. EAB has since been discovered in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, and Ontario, Canada.

EAB Life Cycle

EAB is a slightly illusive insect because it spends the majority of its life under the bark. From late spring through autumn, adult beetles mate and the female lays 60-90 individual eggs on ash tree bark. The eggs hatch 7 to 10 days later and the larvae tunnel into the tree just beneath the bark, where they feed on the live tissue of the tree. The larvae are flat, creamy white, with bell-shaped segments, and are about an inch long. Their S-shaped feeding pattern, called galleries, disrupts the transport of water and nutrients, eventually killing the tree. Over the winter, the larvae remain under the bark. When warmer weather arrives, larvae enter the pupal stage and then transform into adults. The dark metallic green, half-inch long beetles emerge through the bark, leaving behind 1/8 inch, distinctive D-shaped exit holes. The adults feed on leaves before mating and laying eggs, starting the cycle over again.

How to Tell if Your Tree Has EAB

There are several things that may indicate your ash tree has emerald ash borer.

• Branch dieback at the top of the tree
• Vertical splits in the bark
• Sprouting on the trunk and at the base of the tree
• Scratched bark from woodpeckers feeding on the larvae
• Distinct 1/8 inch, D-shaped exit holes in the bark
• S-shaped, sawdust-packed galleries under the bark

Emerald Ash Borer D-shaped hole Width 3 mm (1/8")	Banded Ash Clearwing Borer Round hole Width 6 mm (1/4")	Redheaded Ash Borer Oval hole Width 6 mm (1/4")
Exit holes for the tree-killing Emerald Ash Borer are distinctive form other less worrisome insects, which attack only weakened or dying trees.

EAB is very difficult to detect until a tree has been infested for at least a year because the larvae feed from the top of the tree first. When looking for EAB, it is important to peel off the bark to look for the larvae and the galleries.

Recent studies have shown some success with using chemical treatments to keep EAB from killing your trees. The city has contracted with the Davey Tree Expert Company to treat all ash trees in the rights-of-way and in city parks. The company has agreed to treat residential trees for the same fee plus an $80 service charge. The service charge applies regardless of the number of trees treated. The cost per tree treated is dependent upon the diameter of the trunk at breast height (dbh) and is $3.00 per inch.

Please contact the Davey Tree Expert Company directly if you wish to treat your own trees.

Davey Tree Expert Company
6065 Guinea Pike
Milford, OH 45150
513-575-1733

Other vendors are available. Please contact them directly for pricing.

Arborx Tree Specialists, LLC
7641 Parktown Drive
West Chester, OH 45069
513-759-TREE (8733)

Back Tree & Landscape, Inc.
2300 E. Kemper Road
Cincinnati, OH 45241
513-742-TREE (8733)

Further Information

For questions about the EAB quarantine, visit the Ohio Department of Agriculture web site or call 1-888-OHIO-EAB.

For information on rural or community forest management assistance, visit the Ohio Division of Forestry web site or call 1-877-247-8733.

For questions regarding yard trees and insecticide recommendations, please visit the Ohio State University ash alert web site or call the Warren County Ohio State University Extension office at 513-695-1311.

To report an infestation, or if you think one of your trees has EAB but aren't sure, call the Warren County Ohio State University Extension Office at 513-695-1311 or call the City of Mason Public Works Department at 513-229-8580.

Beware: Emerald Ash Borer scams already being reported

Local residents have reported being approached by individuals operating either independently or as part of an alleged tree company. These individual report that the trees on the owner's property are infected by the Emerald Ash Borer. Usually, the property owner is approached with some urgency to remove the affected trees. The suspect trees may be ashes with no infestation or trees of a different variety.

In some cases, a full payment in the thousands of dollars has been reported. In other cases, a significant deposit is made on the work.

Before contracting with a company who has made a claim of infestation, call the Mason Police Department at 513-229-8560 to investigate the report. It may be an effort to cash in on the Emerald Ash Borer problems sweeping across Ohio. They may also be in violation of the city’s new solicitation ordinance.

Last updated August 28, 2008