EMERALD ASH BORER

The Emerald Ash Borer is in Kansas City.  This fact has been widely publicized in newspapers and on TV, and hundreds of thousands of municipal trees in the city have been treated.  However, I still get the impression after talking with homeowners that there is still I sense of “What should I do for my trees?” or sometimes even “Do I have ash trees?”.  The second question is more difficult for me to answer without going into tree and leaf biology, I would simply say in that case property owners should contact a certified arborist to assess the species and condition of their trees and recommend a treatment plan, if necessary, to prevent costly tree removals in the future.

For a homeowner who knows they have Ash trees, but isn’t sure how to proceed with treatment, I always put it this way.  If I had a large Ash tree in my lawn that I valued, for shade, privacy, etc.  I would treat it without question.  While I am certainly not going to guarantee that all Ash trees in Kansas City are going to die if not treated, I have personally seen enough damage from these little green bugs that I wouldn’t take the risk on my own property. I took this picture in Riss Lake, a large residential community off 64^th St. and I-29.  This tree has probably been infested for 2-4 years and now has hundreds of thousands of little green borers under the bark.  This tree is beyond treatment and needs to be removed and replaced.

Please contact us with any questions about possible Ash tree treatments and/or removal options, and lets get these trees treated or replaced to keep the Kansas City urban forest strong!  Below are some links for additional EAB readings and information.

-Jason