Trees are one of the most important landscaping features of a home, a park, a commercial building, and many other areas worldwide. Almost all landscape design pictures include at least one tree in their plan. These plants provide shade on a cool day, and also offer a home for many insects and animals. One particular tree, the ash tree, is found in both forests, and along the streets of cities around the world. Ash tree seeds, famous for their helicopter-like spin with they fall from the tree, provide food for birds and mammals. You have probably seen ash trees along the streets in your neighborhood or in landscape design pictures, but you might not know that these trees are in danger.
A beetle native to Asia and Eastern Russia, called the emerald ash borer has destroyed more than 15 million ash tress in the United States. The ash borer, also known as agrilus planipennis, is an invasive species that drills a hole into the bark of the tree, inserting itself inside. Once it is supplanted in the bark, their larvae become destructive to the flow of nutrients that run upward from the root of a tree to the trunk and the crown. These eggs hatch within two weeks, and cause immediate damage to a tree. This disruption ends in the death of the tree after about 2 to 4 years, creating a landscaping disaster for homeowners and city officials.
But people are beginning to raise awareness about this beetle to promote emerald ash borer control. Many cities have put together information for the public about this insect’s destructive nature, and how to look for signs of this beetle’s entry into a tree in your backyard. There are also emerald ash borer treatment options that include insecticides that can be injected at the base of the tree. These insecticides are absorbed by the tree’s roots and distributed up the trunk to stop the growth of ash borer eggs. Other treatments include a topical spray that kills the adult ash borers and the larvae, but do not kill the eggs. Even with these treatments, this beetle continues to wreak havoc on ash trees around the country.
If you have an ash tree in your yard, check to see if there are any signs that an ash borer has made a home in its trunk. It is even worth having an expert take a look at the tree to be sure. If there are ash borers in your tree, seek treatment as soon as possible to save your tree. Ash trees have uniquely shaped leaves and their helicopter seeds add aesthetic quality to landscape design pictures. Losing these trees could change the beauty of your lawn, and also cost many other non-harmful animals and insects their home.