Emerald ash borer a concern for private property owners too, cities say

Therecord.com
Jan. 10, 2018
By Catherine Thompson

Local municipalities have budgeted millions of dollars to manage the destructive emerald ash borer, but private property owners will also need to deal with the beetle's attack on thousands of ash trees on their land.

It's likely that tens of thousands of ash trees in the region will have to come down, says Brian Geerts, manager of forestry at the City of Cambridge. Cambridge inventoried all trees on city property in 2013, and found that about seven per cent of all trees in the city were ash trees. In Waterloo, as many as 15 per cent of all the trees in the city are ash.

Emerald ash borer, first discovered in North America in 2002, kills virtually every ash tree it infests. Its presence was confirmed in Cambridge and Kitchener in 2010 and in Waterloo in 2011. It multiplies quickly and was introduced to the United States from Asia via wood cargo crates.

Cities in the region are spending millions of dollars removing ash trees, and in some cases injecting healthy ash trees with an insecticide to protect them against infestation. But there are far more trees on private lands than public ones, and so it's important for private property owners to think about the possibility they may have ash trees, and that the trees are likely infested with the borer, local foresters say.

The pest "has been a problem in all municipalities from Windsor through to Ottawa so we can be certain that it will impact everyone at one point or another," said Mike Perri, area manager for tree service company Davey Tree. "It cannot be avoided."

"We confirmed emerald ash borer populations throughout the city in 2014, so it's very likely that any living ash tree out there will likely host a population" of the pest, said Adam Buitendyk, a forest technologist with the City of Kitchener.

Trees on private property are the responsibility of the landowner, and the city doesn't really have a role to play, Buitendyk said. "The loss of canopy is a concern," he said.

As well, dead and dying ash trees can pose a hazard, since the infestation weakens the roots and trunks of the trees. That's why local cities are working so hard to cut down the infested trees, he said.

"Once an ash is dead with no leaves, it deteriorates very fast, and within one year the branches become very brittle and the actual wood becomes punky and soft which creates very weak-holding wood," said Tim Wolfe, the manager of forestry in Waterloo.

He advises owners to remove trees before they become very decayed and pose more of a risk, and stresses that it's not a procedure that should be done by amateurs.

City crews may notice a tree on private land that presents a hazard to the public or public property. In those cases, bylaw officers would notify residents of the need to get rid of the tree.

Removing an infested tree could cost from $200 to $700 or more, depending on the tree's location and what sort of shape it's in. Injecting the tree with an insecticide could cost $180, but the injections must be repeated every two years for the life of the tree, and Buitendyk warned that any tree in Kitchener is likely already infested.

Many tree care companies often offer free assessments and can help property owners identify what sorts of trees they have, Perri said. "We encourage everyone to take advantage of that, if only to be aware of the type and condition of the trees they have on their property. After all, they are an asset to be cared for."

Municipal websites provide some information about emerald ash borer. There are also apps, such as the free Leafsnap app, that can help people identify tree species on their property.