New treatment targeting emerald ash borer in Simcoe County

Barrie.ctvnews.ca
June 4, 2015
By Heather Butts

A new treatment was demonstrated on Thursday in Simcoe County to get rid of the emerald ash borer.

Damage can be seen in Minesing as trees are dying because of the destructive insect.

The Simcoe County forestry department has set up ash borer traps to see how bad the problem is and 14 of the 60 traps tested positive for the insect last year.

The fear is getting worse and if you have an ash tree, it could cost you.

“You could choose certainly to treat your tree and if you do it a timely manner but if you don’t then you will be responsible for removal of tree after it dies,” says Graeme Davis with Simcoe County.

The first step is finding out if you have an ash tree on your property and if you live in Simcoe County or in a newer subdivision, the likely hood is quite high.

“I think once people realize they have to treat it or it’s going to die, that’s going to be a factor and I think people are concerned and you’re starting to see it out there with people calling,” says Ray Foster with Foster Lawn & Garden.

Choosing to save a tree means treating it with an insecticide before it becomes infected. One insecticide available is TreeAzin and its injections need to be done every two years, for about ten years. Costs vary depending on the size of the tree.

“Treating is a good option considering the value that trees hold, they increase property value, they reduce heating and cooling bills on homes not to mention that removal, there’s a cost associated with removal as well,” says Brian Ehnes with Bio Forest.

When all of those factors are taken into account, a consulting firm hired by the County of Simcoe found treating a tree is usually cheaper over a ten year period than taking no action or pre-emptively removing all trees.

View video link: http://barrie.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=628812.