Today Old Town Tree and Landscaping is finishing up a job taking down six decent sized Ash trees. They were all dying because of Emerald Ash Borer. This is an invasive species from Asia that was brought into North America on accident and they are devastating to our Ash trees. It is a terrible thing that is happening and nobody wants to see a species of tree in such jeopardy as in this case. Unfortunately once these beetles have taken over an Ash tree there is almost nothing that can be done except remove it. Treatment is exspensive and is not guaranteed to work. Also all other Ash trees in the area seem likely to fall prey to the same tragedy. It is fairly obvious to identify this problem. There will be brown splotchy marks all over the tree where the bark should be grey. The tops of the tree will clearly look dead. When inspected more in depth, under the bark, there will be tunnels where these borers have... well bored. If you suspect this is happening to your Ash tree don't hesitate and call a professional to get free advice on this matter. From a climber's point of view I will say that it is better to identify this problem and take care of it ASAP. Once the tree is too damaged it becomes more dangerous to remove and the price can go up. It is better to remove these trees early and plant new trees that are not susceptible to this same occurence. In conclusion don't hesitate to take action before damaged trees become more of a problem.
