EAB

Initial (and very critical question) is it killing ALL ash trees in affected areas? I understand it kills pretty reliably once the tree is being fed on by the larvae. Curious if it is a 100% mortality of ash species in a given area.

What I am trying to figure out how to advise in our not so infested area is whether to alarm customers that have ash trees. Not a big fan of the yard that has so many pesticides applied that you can't find a single insect... Makes me think of love canal - even though I was young at the time, it was a powerful image.

MD already went on an ash tree genocided mission whether infested or not - at least that was the impression that I got when reading the RFP. Reflex actions we may regret later? Cutting a tree down that has an EXIT hole - makes me think perhaps they left the tree already??? We have a few historical lessons on introduced species. I wonder whether fraxinus sp. have encountered some similar pest before (land masses were joined at one time.)
 
The Lerp Psyllid outbreak here in SoCal that wiped out millions of Red Gum Eucs about 15 years ago, is a good case in point of a new pest running rampant in an environment devoid of the psyllid's natural predators.

It took over 10 years and the introduction of the psyllid's natural predator, a very small wasp, as well as the argentine ant, already here in their billions, to cotton on to the fact that psyllid larvae under the sugar caps was a yummy tasty treat freely available to them in the trees, before the outbreak finally came under some degree of control.

It's an extremely complicated process involving a wide array of players interacting with each other over time that even now is poorly understood in my opinion.

The psyllids alone were only capable of stripping enough foliage from the trees to stress them out enough to release their pheremones, which the Eucalyptus Longhorn Beetle soon detected, and the free lunch counter was then wide open. So between the psyllids and the beetles, it was a one two punch that proved itself extremely lethal to the eucs.

It took well over a decade before the wasps and the ants were able to bring the situation under some degree of control.

I found it interesting that none of the millions of players involved in this highly complex fight for survival, including the affected trees themselves, were natives to CA.

The makers and applicators of imicide made alot of money, but had no real role in bringing the outbreak under control. It was the psyllid wasps and argentine ants in their billions that finally brought the situation into some degree of control, enough so that Red Gum Eucs can still be found in Socal that are alive and relatively healthy today.

You can bet that horticultural entomologists are in China right now doing their best to identify the EAB's natural predators so they can culture and grow them in sufficient quantities that they can be introduced into the northeastern US before it's too late.

My hat's off to these hardworking entomologists and their vital work to save our country's ash trees.

jomoco
 
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I found it interesting that none of the millions of players involved in this highly complex fight for survival, including the affected trees themselves, were natives to CA.

The makers and applicators of imicide made alot of money, but had no real role in bringing the outbreak under control. It was the psyllid wasps and argentine ants in their billions that finally brought the situation into some degree of control, enough so that Red Gum Eucs can still be found in Socal that are alive and relatively healthy today.



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I agree. Whenever something changes, eventually some organism will arrive or adapt to exploit it. It may or may not happen in a time frame that humans are comfortable with. We may lose most of our ash before things come into approximate balance. And it's not really balance. There is no such thing as a 'balance of nature'. There are only natural forces acting in response to pressures or opportunities provided.

We don't know enough yet about EAB and ALB yet to know how it is likely to play out. I hope we can keep both of them from Alberta where ash have a tough enough time as it is.

We lost virtually all our Manchurian and black ash to ash psyllid just in the few years I've been an arborist. Imidacloprid injections did not help enough, and who knows what the collateral damage on that may have been.

The urban ecosystem is just as valid an ecosystem as any other. The uniqueness of it stems from the fact that plant, including tree species and animal species from all over the world are brought together in instantaneous geological time - which makes for a very interesting and often disturbing play of events.
 
Tree-age is injected into the zylem through the use of Arborjet's Tree IV system. It has no label for "air spray" application. I would think that the method of application would preclude any measurable exposure to beneficials.
 
It's the pollen's insecticide content UrbanForester.

http://www.networkbees.com/Fraxinus_(ash)_as_a_food_source_for_pollinators.pdf

Once the bees collect the pollen and take it back to the hive, it then gets dispersed throughout the honeycomb which the whole hive feeds on.

Thinking that simply because the insecticide gets injected into the zylem somehow precludes it from uptake into the flowers only indicates a poor understanding of basic tree biology.

Indeed emamectin benzoate's ability to withstand degradation in an aqueous solution far better than imidacloprid only makes it worse in terms of it being transfered to bees through pollen collection.

jomoco
 
So, I live in Detroit which does not have a forestry department and even though the borer swept through here in 2003-2004, there are entire neighborhoods with all the ash trees still standing dead and not dead. The really dead ones are on the verge of falling over or have fallen over. I cant imagine what the city owes people on damaged cars.

Amazingly,there are a surprising amount of functional ash trees that remain. I would say most of the mature large trees were wiped out but I have seen a few. I am referring to only Detroit street trees so I suspect no treatment. On an average block planted with all ashes planted post DED (70's and 80's). half will be stone dead, another 1/4 will be flush with sucker growth, (sucker growth has almost outgrown the dead extremities in many cases). In another 1/4, the trees are still functional trees and I would not recommend cutting them down. I have gone to peoples yards with beautiful ash trees, I have asked if they have been treated and they say no although I suspect imidicloprid lawn treatment in some of those cases.

So to say it kills all ash trees is overstating it. Now that the wave of infestation has passed. The epidemic numbers that were fueled by an urban monoculture, Ash trees will make a comeback. At least that is my hope. I remember when EAB was flying around in swarms attacking trees. I haven't seen one in quite a while. I'm sure they are still out there but not in the numbers that can overwhelm a tree trying to make a comeback
 
When EAB and ALB were first being recognized I heard a story on NPR about attempts to control the spread. The USDA enrolled people from the Center for Disease Control. Integrating how CDC deals with epidemics was hoped to reduce the impact of the infestations.

It would be interesting to see exactly what plans were set in motion at the time and how effective they've been.
 
yeah, I think they figured out the dock the infestation started from off the Detroit river. based off of infestation patterns
 
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On an average block planted with all ashes planted post DED (70's and 80's). half will be stone dead, another 1/4 will be flush with sucker growth, (sucker growth has almost outgrown the dead extremities in many cases). In another 1/4, the trees are still functional trees and I would not recommend cutting them down. ...I'm sure they are still out there but not in the numbers that can overwhelm a tree trying to make a comeback

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Nice Kevin thanks for the report!
santa.gif
 
When the trees green out, remind me to shoot a little video of Detroit Ash trees. I think it might be a good thing to collect seeds and such from the hardier stock. Interesting there is a neighborhood that went with the Victorian theme and planted lots of European Ash as well as English Oaks and London Plane trees. The European Ash was hit but a pretty solid survival rate I would say relative to other ash species.
 
also want to add that Detroit does have a forestry department but they are incredibly understaffed and underpaid. Reaction only tree care.
 
Thank you so much for the report from Detroit. Great discussion on treatment options as well.

It is usually a combination of factors that precipitate into problems such as EAB. I would be curious as to the specific differences between the trees that succumbed to the critter and those that didn't. I think that would be a great area to have solid understanding.

How much traveling do the larvae do in the tree? Do they work the entire tree or just the bottom? Are there any common factors that can be identified? Have the crowns been modified? Open grown? Competitive situation? In natural habitat? There seems to be some reservation about even the life cycle at this point.

What I have heard is that all the ash trees will be gone. I have heard it said many times and in many places. A scared client will buy treatment. Really, do we need to do this? We may very well have this need, just not sure yet. I have talked to many arborist that do very well in the application market and will immediately prescribe treatment in all situations where there is an ash tree. How many of the chemicals that are applied are fully understood to the end of their effect. Collateral damage to insect populations is one aspect. Changes to plant chemistry through chemical additions seems likely. Is there an impact on the plant for the long term? What is that impact? We study to see if the target pest population is diminished and if the tree survives the treatment. These are the goals of the application, but the impact is far greater I assume.

So the pack of animals is running from the predator. The thought for all SHOULD be "I need to run faster than at least one of my buddies". So long ago, I was introduced to the idea of natural sellection. This idea was immediately taken as THE truth of the living condition. It saddens me to see individuals die, though resources are limited and that leaves more for others.

We still have elms in DC. They all haven't been under treatment.

In my area, there are many, many, many white pines planted. We have had an extremely mild winter followed by quite dry conditions so far this year. I have noticed a significant increase in pine mortality caused by bark beetles. Curious? Do I treat all white pines for beetles? Not much of a fan of white pine - sappy mess! They have utility in a landscape and can be quite spectacular. Arbor day foundation on white pine: "A hardy, valuable tree. Clustered soft blue-green needles. Ideal screen or windbreak. Likes moist, well-drained soils. Grows 50'- 80' with a 20-40' spread in the landscape. (zones 3-8)". Where I live we have mostly clay, flat soil. How is that for drainage? How close are the houses? Spread - seriously??? That should say at 20 years 50'- 80' with a 20-40' also warning that they can spread to over 80' and reach heights of 140' and live for 150 years. That is great when the average house is 30' from the neighbor's. The point is that we sellect things that maybe aren't suited for where they are planted. Then we plant LOTS of them. Then we get a disease "problem". I would propose that this is a self correction for nature. Nature wouldn't have to make the correction if we didn't screw up the install. But hey I made a pile of money over the plan. I am only presenting this because I strongly believe that we gotta have trees and it is better to make things as stable as we can.


All the ash trees aren't dead, just the ____ ones. The blank seriously needs to be filled in before we take extraordinary actions.
 
Interesting, some good dialogue and some misrepresentations here. The truth of the matter in heavy pressure is that all the ash will be killed that are not treated. There may be a few exceptions that likely, as said, are the result of residual from lawn treatments.

With established clientele if you disregard the threat posed to old established trees on treasured and valued landscapes and choose to take your chances then someone else will do the treatments. If no one does them then you will have very disappointed clients surprised by their dead trees. Either way you are losing them and they will find a more reactive and professional service.

Those with no horse in the race that ponder the effects of the pesticide I say that I feel the impact of injected pesticides is being far over dramatized by those such as Jomoco. Data not conjecture will be the guiding light to the high level arborist, none of whom want to cause any environmental disasters. They just want to make their long established clients happy and keep their trees healthy and beautiful.

Who is the person or entity that benefits from these treatments Jomoco? Just the Mfctr., the distributor and the applicator? How about the non dead tree, client, tree owner/lover?

The information tendered that a partially infested tree cannot survive or improve even if treated is just bologna. Research has shown that not only can a partially infested ash survive after treatment it has shown it can survive for years even with partial infestation persisting. Ash are some very tough characters.

My small town which is a northern Cinci. suburb is very heavily infested and I was the first to find a d hole, first to find a larvae and first to find an adult just a couple of years ago. It all moves very quickly and indecision is a mistake. You can liken it to a batch of popcorn and accompanying sound in the progression of the devastation.
 
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My small town which is a northern Cinci. suburb is very heavily infested and I was the first to find a d hole, first to find a larvae and first to find an adult just a couple of years ago. It all moves very quickly and indecision is a mistake. You can liken it to a batch of popcorn and accompanying sound in the progression of the devastation.

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I feel like the popcorn popper has just reached optimal temperature here in Louisville. It makes me sick to think of all of the Ash that will be killed (supposedly 17% of Louisville's canopy is Ash species).

Last month I saw D shaped exit holes in three different parts of the city (all within a 5 mile radius). Last week I saw a stand of dead Ash trees, 10"-15" DBH, where I pulled the loose bark back and saw the S shaped galleries. It's only a matter of time before I see an adult, and I am looking.

As a practitioner of tree care, it behooves me to recommend treatment against EAB infestation to my clients. It is up to them to decide which course of action to take.

I certainly do not look forward to thousands of standing dead Ash trees, and the guys in pickup trucks who will be taking down a lot of them, and transporting the wood all over kingdom come.

SZ
 
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