OT-Emerald Ash borer

Just got this from an extension agent.
The discovery of the tree-killing beetle in Fairfax, VA. earlier this month
prompted state officials to issue a county quarantine, which prohibits
the movement of ash trees, untreated ash lumber products, and hardwood
firewood outside of the quarantined area. Which now has expanded to include Arlington, Fauquier,
Loudoun, and Prince William counties, and the cities of Alexandria,
Fairfax City, Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park.
How will they enforce somthing like this?

Any woodcutters out there having to deal with this?

This bug is all over so you aint the only affected area it has moved into the mid-west and more.

these are my stompin' grounds, but all i've been cutting lately is wind-blown oak- and it ain't going nowhere but in my firewood pile

The baseball major league teams have started using a lot of maple bats where they were I guess all ash before. Don't know if related or not,just a thought.

Lot of wind blown everything around here lately. Had trees across 211 near Little Washington on Thursday

along i-70 between columbus and cambridge ohio they have these traps hanging from the ash trees they look like the brown grocery bags from the supermarkets but they are blue green and maybe red colored RICK

That beetle was discoved in Michigan several years ago, likely been in Michigan since the mid-90's. All (yes all) of my ash trees are dead, I live in Michigan 90 miles north of the Ohio border. I have 2.5 acres of mixed hardwoods. I know that there is an insecticide that works but it just came out, (do a search on the internet)
It is very likely that all the Ash trees in the midwest will be dead in 5-10 years unless an effecive way to kill the beetle is discovered. The beetle needs a natural enemy, or bug to reduce it's expansive growth. 3 years ago all of my ash trees were alive, now all dead. All of SE Michigan has dead ash trees, again search the net for info on this pest. Michigan tried to quarantine the bug but no use it spread a little slower but is still spreading north and west, into Ohio now and Indiana too, and now VA...that sucks.

Mostly it's the honor system.

Most of my Ashes are afflicted with yellowing disease from the emerald borers. They'll all be firewood in a few years.

Hemlocks are another one with quaratines common in New England. One big vector is bark mulch spreading wolly adelgids.

It's not that the state has enough inspectors to check the loads...heck, you hardly ever see weigh stations open. With commercial nurseries and such though, there's usually a paper trail that can show if you've been bringing in products that met the quarantine requirements, or not.

I hear there is a insecticide that works, but requires individually treating each tree. OK if you're trying to save a few along the srteet, but not practical in a rural woodlot setting. This part of Michigan has been under a firewood quaranteen for some time... Probably hasn't made much difference. Them's bad bugs!

Got all my ash trees in Mich. also. Never understood why it isn"t more desirable for furniture and trim work. It looks good. Lots of character grain, and in between red and white oak for hardness. I haven"t figured out how to market the ash in rough sawn form. But it burns real well. There is a product by Bayer you pour around the tree on the ground. Pricey and not for sure a guarantee against the bug. Supposedly came here in packing crates from over seas?

I do crop insurance work. I inspected a nursery in Central Missouri last week. They inject an insecticide into the soil around each ash. They showed me one that had died, then broken over, due to a bore hole. So even with treatment it is not 100%, of course nothing much is 100% sure, except death and taxes.


Gene

The only real way for the quarantine to work is for the area infected to be designated and then all the ash trees within a mile radius of the area to be cut up and destroyed, of course this means cutting up ash trees on private land. In 15 years the whole US will have a serious problem on its hands with the EAB.

Yep, we have a quarantine here in West Central Ohio too. Up to $4000 fine for transporting any hardwood over county lines. But I see lumber mills' trucks going down the higway loaded with hardwood logs. How's that work? So- if you want to haul firewood, get an old log truck and haul it in long pieces?

Just to add to what was said a bit earlier by others. I have had two USDA Foresters on my property looking at the ash trees. To date no infestations. But other farms around me have them and I was informed that within a year or two probably all of my ash trees will be infected. They both stated that they see no way possible to save woodlots. Only really important trees in the yard that you are willing to pay a high price to inject with chemical treatment can be saved. In short, the end result will be very similar to what we experienced with the Dutch Elm Disease that hit this area of Michigan about 40 years ago. It killed them all over about a ten year period. Sadly the experts anticipate the same thing to happen to the ash trees.

Currently, London, Ontario is trying out a new experimental product that has to be injected into each tree in several locations. The product is not available to the public and will not for several years and then only if it proves to be successful.

As was stated, ash makes beautiful lumber for furniture and the Emerald Ash borer only lives in the layer between the wood and the bark. As such the lumber in the tree is not damaged and can be used as in the past. I was told there is currently such a glut of ash lumber available now that there is no commercial demand for it. Cherry, however is in super demand around here.

Where in Michigan are you?
All of my Elm trees are dying too, I have down over 50 Elms in 8 years. The Dutch Elm disease is far worse on my lot then the EAB. Luckly I have all different species of wood, Aspen, Maple, a few Hickory, Box elder, cherry, and the Ash and Elm. The largest trees on my lot are mostly Maple, I have maybe 20 that are 50' tall and 18"+ at the base of the truck.

Yep- came from China in ash crates. I've been wondering... was it accidental, or not?

The emerald ash borer has been around for at least five years.
Pretty much a write off for any and all ash trees.
Then again 40 years ago you couldn"t find a live elm tree.
Now there are monster elms that are growing all over the place. There are dead elms too but the new ones are out pacing the dying elms.

Dont forget the chestnut tree.

Chestnut trees around here are doing ok. They are mostly seen as shade trees in town or around houses. Never seen one in the wild.
There is the occassional butternut/white walnut tree around here as well. A few black walnut trees too. Oak are kind of spotty in coverage as well. There must be 1000 elms for every oak around here.
The elm seem to be semi resistant to the dutch elm disease now.

Elms are still dying here.I had one that was fine last fall but was dead this spring.There are some new elms coming up in one of my wood lots.I have one American chestnut growing in my front yard.I remember seeing young chestnuts get to 6 feet or so and then die.Note that our tree diseases are all imported.

We have a lot of ash and so far no sign of bug...but it's in the county south of us about 10 miles so I'll have a lot of good firewood in a couple of years. We have lots of oak, both red and white and a few good walnut. Some of my oaks are over 150 years old. I hate to cut them because they won't be replaced in my life time. But they are straight and tall, so it just depends on the economy and retirement.

Larry in Michigan