ALB hits heavy here

Got the public in a huge uproar. Maybe a little better PR campaign was in order. Either way...more profit for the tree guys.

Wonder if this program will fizzle out like the eab program did where funds dried up to nothing after promises to finance all removals including private.

Also wonder if the tree guy takes the hit when funds dry up as with thousands and thousands of trees being removed in the next year, the accounts payable by the Feds is going to be quite substantial.

Me, I have plenty of residential work and thankfully no need to dive into this lowbidder pool far from my base.....yet.

IMO the bigger difference in these 2 pests is the lack of efficacy of pesticides on one as compared to the other because of how they feed.
 
Seems a group of residents have banded together to hire an attorney if they go past the 5k infested trees they have on the slate and begin to remove the 50k trees they are considering. I think the intention is a clear cut of a 1/4 mile beyond any infestation I may have read.

I just cannot imagine a tree company coming on my property and removing without my approval, a maple, hchestnut, buckeye, mimosa, birch, hackberry, ash, goldenraintree, katsura, sycamore, poplar, willow, mountain ash, or an elm, that I have cultured for years....watered through droughts, grown kids under it.

How did all this play out in the Northeast coast program. Is it considered a success?

http://www.fox19.com/story/16039201/asian-longhorned-beetle-claims-first-ohio-trees-neighbors-worry
 
Northeast area keeps growing, and we have a continuous canopy that extends deep into Canada. If the ALB gets outside of Worcester the entire Northeast Sugar/Maple/tourism sector is at risk. I have seen estimates of lost revenue from tourism in the 10's of billions for the fall season alone!

As I said before, the folks in Worcester went through the same deal as you are going through, and they are basing that program, from what I have read, largely off of the one used out this way.

You keep comparing ALB to EAB, they cant be compared! One can be controlled with chemicals, feeds on a couple species, and moves quite well. The other feeds on 15~ species, destroys anything in its path, and chemicals cant touch it.


Its very sad to see some of these trees being cut, but if the beetle gets out of your area, it could take off and destroy more than just the few trees on your property. people need to look at the big picture! Its the same people that wont let the power company trim their trees on a regular cycle, but as soon as a storm comes and that tree caused an outage and they cant watch Dr Phil, they are screaming CUT IT DOWN! If the beetle starts destroying forests, costing the region tourism monies, and driving up lumber, pulp, and other costs, the general public will have a far different outlook on this beetle and their precious few trees on their property.
 
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... I think the intention is a clear cut of a 1/4 mile beyond any infestation ...

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I wish you luck. How can anyone possibly believe that cutting down thousands of healthy trees will create an unbreachable buffer zone for a pest that came from Asia.

Dave
 
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... I think the intention is a clear cut of a 1/4 mile beyond any infestation ...

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I wish you luck. How can anyone possibly believe that cutting down thousands of healthy trees will create an unbreachable buffer zone for a pest that came from Asia.

Dave

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For ALB it's possible, they're extremely slow moving. ALB has been effectively contained and stopped in infestation areas using this strategy. The alternative is a brutal wipeout of a variety ALB target species in all eastern forests. Only species which ALB feeds on are targeted, it is not a clear cut.

As Bull mentioned don't confuse ALB with EAB eastern ash borer. EAB is very difficult to contain, a fast mover.
-AJ
 
Eab....Emerald Ash Borer.

This Alb infestation seems to spreading quite quickly here. Like eab, the movement most significant is in firewood not the insect itself.

It gets cold here and it is predominantly rural where this started. They will have to monitor every guy trying to bring in wood to heat their homes over the next couple of years....good luck with that and shotguns pointed their way.

They gave up trying to capture all the logs generated and reduced here in initial eab quarantine where it originated...not enough space. Depletion of staffing.

I was talking to someone in early eab here and they said they were the only one in the office....and they were being let go the next week.
 
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For ALB it's possible, they're extremely slow moving. ALB has been effectively contained and stopped in infestation areas using this strategy... -AJ

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No it has not been stopped. It continues to show up in different locations and will continue to do so.
Like you said, they're extremely slow moving. They can be controlled through normal zero tolerance measures but they will never be a non threat. So why destroy more then they would?

Dave
 
From the beginning eab was suspected in my town with no concrete evidence until this year when I was the first to find evidence of the insect to next year when there will be thousands of dead trees all over the landscape: 2006 until 2012, 6 years of development....I wouldn't consider eab relatively fast moving.

What is the aspect of Alb you see as relatively slow moving?
 
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For ALB it's possible, they're extremely slow moving. ALB has been effectively contained and stopped in infestation areas using this strategy... -AJ

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No it has not been stopped. It continues to show up in different locations and will continue to do so.
Like you said, they're extremely slow moving. They can be controlled through normal zero tolerance measures but they will never be a non threat. So why destroy more then they would?

Dave

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Finding ALB halfway across the country, with an infestation dated to almost the same time as the original infestation in the USA, cant be considered a failed eradication? And proof that tree removal doesnt work for eradicating this pest?

How do you propose getting rid of the beetle without major removals?
 
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What is the aspect of Alb you see as relatively slow moving?

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They stay on the host tree until it jiust about falls apart, they can't fly more than about 80 yards (something like that) without becoming exhausted, they're lousy at mating, they're basically a bumbling bug but if you give them a 10-15 year start they'll do damage and spread.

Here's the deal on preemptory cutting, if they haven't spread from a small group of original host tree (at initial infestation site for a short enough time), there won't be massive cutting out a 1/4 mile. If they were established for 10 years (for example) before they were discovered, and additional infested trees are found away from the initial host tree, then they are considered "escaped", they'll have to remove potential host trees in the general area.

I'm not an expert, this is what I've observed and gleaned from two very different ALB infestations in my area, one provoked massive cutting (Worcester), the other (Boston) only six host trees, nothing else found outside those trees, it's contained. The Worcester infestation was in place so long they're having a much more difficult time containing it.

Boston Bull knows more about these local ALB infestations than I do, may be able to correct my info or provide more detail.
-AJ
 
ALB is not a cut and dry pest like EAB. The way it attacks trees, moves, and the large (and ever growing!) number of species it attacks makes it unique. The fact that chemicals are only somewhat effective on non infested trees, is another issue that creates a road bump.

You should read as much info as possible, study the other infestations, and the tactics they used and what worked. Compare another known infestation to the one in your area, use length of time the beetle has been in your area, the forest/city make up, etc. Cananda had the most aggressive process there has been, they were also one of the fastest to eradicate, and the landscape is coming back like nothing ever happened.

Education is key, not yelling and screaming about a few trees being removed. This is way bigger than one person, one property, one town, or one state!

Its up to us as Arborist's to educate others around us, and be informed.
 
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ALB is not a cut and dry pest like EAB. The way it attacks trees, moves, and the large (and ever growing!) number of species it attacks makes it unique. The fact that chemicals are only somewhat effective on non infested trees, is another issue that creates a road bump.

You should read as much info as possible, study the other infestations, and the tactics they used and what worked. Compare another known infestation to the one in your area, use length of time the beetle has been in your area, the forest/city make up, etc. Cananda had the most aggressive process there has been, they were also one of the fastest to eradicate, and the landscape is coming back like nothing ever happened.

Education is key, not yelling and screaming about a few trees being removed. This is way bigger than one person, one property, one town, or one state!

Its up to us as Arborist's to educate others around us, and be informed.

[/ QUOTE ]

I have a friend I have been in email contact with for about 5 years re Emerald Ash Borer and is the or one of the lead researchers on eab at Ohio State. He has also been chosen to be on the advisory board for this infestation. His name is Dan Herms. If anyone has any questions fire them up here and I will ask him or go direct to the source and google him.

He also says this eradication program works and the outbreaks (also one in Italy) are more than likely also from packaging from China and not unsuccessful eradication attempts.

Like you said....studying sites, reading, and talking to the experts is the way to go. I studied eab for almost a decade and have read reams of information and also being able to speak with one of the experts personally has been invaluable. He has no ulterior motives...period.

We have a talk show host here that is being very very provocative but this opens dialogue and is not all bad.

Just the same, villifying those that strongly object to the removals on THEIR property may not be fair either unless you have walked in their shoes.
 
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