Ash borer confirmed in South Elgin

The destructive beetles making quick work of the nation's ash trees have struck again, this time in South Elgin.

The state Department of Agriculture confirmed Tuesday that a tree on the 800 block of James Street is infested with the emerald ash borer.

"The DOA's only confirmed one," South Elgin Public Works Director Charlton Behm said Thursday. "But we suspect more."

With infestations of the inch long, metallic green beetles reported throughout the suburbs, it was only a matter of time before the insects made their way to South Elgin.

"It's pretty much going on everywhere, so we're not surprised," Behm said.

The village's public works staff is canvassing ash trees on village land and will take down trees that are infested, Behm said.

There are no plans right now to take down all the village's ash trees, the public works director said.

Like other communities that have reported the ash borer, South Elgin could look a lot different when the infestation has run its course.

The public works director estimated 20 percent of the village's trees, or about 3,000, are ash trees.

Because of the high cost, its not yet clear if the village will replace the ash trees it removes with another species, Behm said.

The village is considering an ordinance that would require homeowners to remove infested ash trees from their yards, Behm said.

But experts say it's not a question of "if" but "when" all ash trees in the state will get hit by the emerald ash borer.

"It's just a matter of time," Behm said. "It's going to get them all."

The ash borer has already been reported in Algonquin, Batavia, Carol Stream, Chicago, Evanston, Geneva, Naperville, St. Charles, Wilmette and Winnetka.

The beetle, which is of Asian origin, devastated Michigan's ash trees in 2002 and has spread to other states in the eastern United States and Canada, killing more than 20 million ash trees.

South Elgin residents who have ash trees should monitor their trees for signs of infestation and call public works at (847) 695-2742 if they suspect an infestation.

The ash borer leaves a trademark D-shaped hole when it exits a tree.

Costly chemical treatments may help prevent an infestation, but removing the tree is the best way to slow the spread of the ash borer, Behm said.