City Links

Home

Council

Departments

Bellbrook Information

Community Information

Merger

Downloads

Site Map

Site Index

Disclaimer

City of Bellbrook

Community Information | Local Government Links | Community Links | Bellbrook Cemetery | Emerald Ash Borer

Emerald Ash Borer


What is the Emerald Ash Borer? The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is a beetle from Asia that preys on Ash Trees and was first discovered in Ohio in 2003. The EAB lives a majority of its life under the bark where its larvae develop into white worms and finally into dark metallic green insects about an inch and a half long. The larvae feed off of the tissue of the tree directly under the bark; therefore, killing the tree by stopping the transportation of water and nutrients. When the warm weather arrives, the larvae mature and take to the air leaving D-shaped holes in the bark. The EAB mates at this time and the cycle starts over by this time traveling to new ash trees.
What is the impact of the Emerald Ash Borer? Ash trees are common in our City and region. All trees contribute to the beauty and environmental stability of the City. Trees help with energy costs by helping to cool surface temperatures and aid in stormwater issues by soaking up many of gallons of water that the rest of the soil is not able to absorb. Dead trees are a danger to those on the ground if a strong wind or heavy rain uplifts their roots. Therefore, the EAB has an aesthetic, economic and safety impact on daily life. The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) has placed 52 counties under quarantine, including Greene County. The quarantine makes it illegal to transport ash trees, parts of ash trees, and all hardwood firewood from any quarantined county into a non-quarantined county without a compliance agreement from the ODA. Firewood dealers, businesses, or woodlot owners interested in marketing and transporting ash trees or firewood from quarantined areas can do so only with a department-approved compliance agreement. These agreements stipulate handling practices that mitigate the artificial spread of the EAB. Click here to view Ohio’s EAB quarantine map on the ODA web site. Violators of this quarantine may face fines up to $4,000. Due to a federal quarantine, it is also illegal to take these items from the state of Ohio.
What is the City of Bellbrook doing? Currently, the City has completed the counting of street trees and trees on city property with the help of local volunteers, Greene Co Master Gardeners and the OSU Extension Office to help measure the impact of the EAB. This counting helps the City analyze the costs and what should be done to minimize the above impacts. Click here to view Bellbrook Tree Inventory report.

Picture of an Emerald Ash Borer from the ODNR web site


Ohio Department of Agriculture Expands Emerald Ash Borer Quarantine *Department adds 14 counties to existing quarantine* REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio (Jan. 14, 2010) – Ohio’s Emerald Ash Borer quarantine was expanded today by the Ohio Department of Agriculture to include 14 additional counties. The quarantine helps slow the spread of the ash tree-killing insect to uninfested parts of the state by prohibiting the movement of all hardwood firewood and ash tree materials. While the invasive pest has not been detected in the following 14 counties, the department issues this quarantine to make the movement of ash trees, parts of ash trees and all hardwood firewood more practical among counties that are adjacent to previously quarantined areas. The following counties are now on the quarantine list: Adams, Ashtabula, Brown, Clinton, Coshocton, Fayette, Geauga, Highland, Holmes, Knox, Lake, Madison, Ross and Trumbull. Since Emerald Ash Borer was first discovered in Ohio in 2003, the department has placed 67 counties under quarantine. The quarantine makes it illegal to transport ash trees, parts of ash trees and all hardwood firewood from any quarantined county into or through a non-quarantined county without a compliance agreement from the Ohio Department of Agriculture. Violation of this quarantine could result in fines up to $4,000. A federal quarantine makes it illegal to take these items out of the state of Ohio. Firewood dealers, businesses or woodlot owners interested in marketing and transporting ash trees or firewood from quarantined areas can do so only with a department-approved compliance agreement. These agreements define handling practices that reduce the artificial spread of Emerald Ash Borer. Ash trees infested with Emerald Ash Borer typically die within five years. The pest belongs to a group of metallic wood-boring beetles. Adults are dark green, one-half inch in length, one-eighth inch wide, and fly from early May until September. Larvae spend the rest of the year beneath the bark of ash trees and leave D-shaped holes in the bark about one-eighth inch wide when they emerge as adults. Suspected Emerald Ash Borer adults and larva can be confirmed by sending the suspected specimen(s) to the Ohio Department of Agriculture for identification using the form located on the department’s Web site. Visit www.agri.ohio.gov and click on “Emerald Ash Borer Program” located under the “Regulatory Programs” tab. The form is available by clicking “Submit a Sample” on the left-hand side. For information on the Emerald Ash Borer, maps, compliance agreements, firewood restrictions and quarantine updates, visit www.agri.ohio.gov or call 1-888-OHIO-EAB.

Update from the Greene County OSU Extension Office Concerning the EAB... (9/2009) On July 28, 2009 the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) added Greene County to the list of counties where EAB has been found. The infested trees and insects were found in western Greene County. With this announcement Greene County joins surrounding counties of Montgomery, Miami, Clark and Warren where the insect has been as well. The ODA is still asking anyone in Greene County who thinks they have the EAB to notify them as they want to track movement of the insect. As a homeowner you may be wondering what one can do to protect your ash trees or deal with the potential loss of one of our most common trees in Ohio. If planting trees on your property, consider utilizing other species of trees than Ash. If you are unsure whether you have Ash trees, get someone to ID the trees for you. You can bring leaf samples into the Greene County Extension Office. Control measures are numerous and can be costly. One of the first things homeowners and incorporated areas need to do soon is to identify where the Ash trees are located on your property and do they present a risk to people, buildings, cars etc. Some of our communities, like Xenia for example, has done such a tree inventory with the help of the Greene County Master Gardeners and other volunteers. Once the Ash trees are located, you can decide which tree(s) pose a danger and whether you want to remove them or will try to save them through the use of insecticides. The Ash tree becomes very brittle once it dies and therein lies the danger if the tree poses a risk to buildings, cars, etc. An Ash tree growing in a wooded area may be left alone to break off and fall if it poses no threat to other valuable trees. There are several insecticides on the market and some of the testing has shown promise in protecting trees from the EAB. There are four types of insecticide options: 1) systemic insecticides that are applied as soil injections, 2) systemic insecticides applied as trunk injections, 3) systemic insecticides applied as lower trunk sprays, and 4) protective cover sprays that are applied to the trunk, main branches and possibly the foliage. Before you embark on one of these options consider the cost, effectiveness and ease of application. These important points are covered in the Greene County OSU Extension fact sheet titled: “Insecticide Options for Protecting Ash Trees from Emerald Ash Borer” at the Emerald Ash Borer Info link below or you can also contact the Greene County OSU Extension Office for a copy. Some general thoughts to keep in mind are: 1) if the Ash tree is 15 inches or more in diameter research has shown you may be ahead to have a professional treat it; 2) Ash trees exhibiting a 50 % or more loss of tree canopy probably are lost; 3) soil drenches are effective if applied in the spring or fall when the ground is not frozen or the soil is too wet; 4) there is only one type of treatment which will give more than one year of protection with a single application and that is Emamectin benzoate. This a tree injection product applied in the spring. The common product available to homeowners is Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub Insect Control. It is a soil drench material applied in mid-fall to late spring. Always follow the label instructions on these products. Contact and Links for Information: Greene County OSU Extension Office 100 Fairground Rd, Xenia (937) 372-9971 (937) 427-2883 X5052 8 AM - 4:30 PM Ohio Department of Agriculture 1-888-OHIO-EAB Email: eab@agri.ohio.gov OSU EAB Ash Alert Emerald Ash Borer Info

Visitors since 1/4/10

Updated 01/19/10