Battle of the beetle hits home - what can you do?
As long as there are ash trees, emerald ash borers are here to stay.
The question for many Fox Valley homeowners is just what that damaging stay will mean for their valued trees. And what can they do to battle the beetles that are sinking their teeth into trees all over the region?
The small, metallic green bug known for its voracious appetite recently surfaced in Huntley, the latest town to report the Asian bug's existence. Officials have responded by removing the affected tree and will soon run a survey on existing ash trees.
Other towns also grappling with how best to handle the resulting damage are Algonquin, South Elgin, St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, Campton Township, Algonquin, Glendale Heights, Naperville and unincorporated Kane County. Campton Township, alone, has already lost 400 trees to the ash borer, one expert says.
The beetle is also responsible for killing 15 million trees in the Midwest and has been in the country for six years, emerging first in Detroit.
Algonquin, which earlier this summer saw the first known case in McHenry County, is now requiring that homeowners either remove infested ash trees from their property or, depending on the tree's diameter, hire a professional to uproot and dispose of it for them.
The village's forestry department is doing the same thing to village-owned trees.
With more than 4,400 village-owned ash trees in Algonquin, officials are predicting their potential removal will forever change the town's image.
"Most experts are in agreement that it's inevitable that we will become totally infested over time," said Edith Makra, a community trees advocate for the Morton Arboretum. "When that will happen, I can't say. It's pretty grim."
Signs of trouble
How do you know if your ash tree is infested?
The tell tale signs, experts say, are:
• Small D-shaped holes;
• Excessive growth at the trees' trunks, called shoots;
• Off color leaves;
• Thinning crowns; and
• Increased woodpecker activity.
Makra says the bug, which likely came to American shores from Asian wooden packing materials, feasts on ash trees in the following manner:
Ash borers move from tree to tree in search of a partner.
Once they mate, the female lays eggs underneath the bark, which hatch into larvae that bore into the tree and feed on it throughout the winter, Makra said.
The cycle repeats itself the following spring once the larvae turn into adults.
While the larvae live in tree, they're boring themselves into the tree, siphoning off the tree's nutrients and water while destroying its circulation system so it can no longer feed itself, said Valerie Blaine, the nature program manager for the Kane County Forest Preserve.
"It got here by accident and it's taking advantage of the food source here," Blaine said.
Ironically, the proliferation of ash trees in the area occurred because the species primarily replaced American elm trees devastated by Dutch elm disease.
"This isn't the first time this kind of thing happened," Blaine said. "These things happen and it's not coincidental that they're all invasive pests that cause these things."
Ash trees, particularly rife in subdivisions, are cheap, grow relatively quickly and can withstand extreme temperatures, Makra said.
"Ash is a very popular tree because it has a lot of qualities that make it a good tree for landscaping," she said. "Ash was a good, easy choice."
What can you do?
Arborists disagree on whether trees afflicted with the insect can be saved.
There are insecticides that can repel the bug before an ash tree's infection.
"There are different chemicals with different degrees of effectiveness," Makra said of treating ash trees before becoming infested. "It's probably not practical on a large scale."
But like sun damage, the symptoms you see on an ash tree take years to develop and usually means removal is needed, Blaine said.
"Once they're infested, they have to be cut down," Blaine said. "There is no saving the tree. Once you start seeing symptoms, it's kind of too late."
Stan Gladbach of Algonquin, whose tree was the village's first reported case of ash borer infection, is doing a combination of things.
He plans on removing the one ash tree already infested with the bug.
And two weeks ago, he hired a master certified arborist to treat three other trees with insecticide to help ward off the bug.
He has nine trees in all that have been there ever since he moved into his home in 1993.
It pains him to think that one day the ash borer could attack, forcing him to remove all of his trees.
"It's a shame it happened," he said. "As far as that goes, what can I do?"
Help, I think my tree is sick
Here are some resources to look into if you think ash borers have feasted on your ash tree:
•University of Illinois Kane County Extension: (630) 584-6166 or http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/kane
•University of Illinois Extension McHenry County (815) 338-3737 or http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/mchenry
•Emerald ash borer hotline: (866) EAB-4512