Local expert responds to emerald ash borer         

[JULY 17, 2006]  LDN asked local expert John Fulton from the University of Illinois Extension, Logan County, what the local response to the emerald ash borer should be now or in the future.

He offered the following list of things to consider:

1. The emerald ash borer has been found in Illinois in two locations within 50 miles of Chicago.

2. There are other types of ash borers that have been in our area for a long time, and they do kill ash trees.

3. Practice good management. As one of the news releases said: Buy only locally cut firewood and nursery stock.

4. Preventive treatments are available for homeowners to prevent the problem, but the treatments aren't cheap. They figure out to be about 60 cents per inch of tree circumference per year. Circumference amounts to a little over three times the diameter. The treatment is once per year and simple to apply.

5. Many other borers and diseases cause symptoms like emerald ash borer. The other ash borers, and ash decline and dieback are a few.

6. Report beetle sightings or "D"-shaped borer holes to the Illinois Department of Agriculture or the Extension office.

A past article by Fulton, "Soldier beetles and 'to do' list," includes other details of treatment and a picture or the emerald ash borer.

[University of Illinois, Logan County Extension; LDN]