Ash borers pay visit to Lake in the Hills
The tree-devouring Emerald Ash Borer has made its way into Lake in the Hills, village officials announced Wednesday.
The announcement comes after the Illinois Department of Agriculture confirmed Wednesday the village arborist's discovery of the insect on about 10 to 12 ash trees in subdivisions between Algonquin and Reed roads, west of Haligus Road.
"It appears at this time to be fairly limited," Director of Public Works Fred Mullard said. "The challenges with the Emerald Ash Borer is that one they get to the flying stage, their range is up to a half mile, so it can spread rather rapidly."
Mullard said village officials know they cannot eradicate the pest, so instead they're focusing efforts on containing it.
That starts with the trees with the recently discovered infestation.
"They're going to be removed, ground up and disposed of in accordance with Illinois Department of Agriculture guidelines," Mullard said.
The department also is inspecting all ash trees on public property - including rights of way and parks - to determine possible infestation and he level of damage.
Trees spared infestation, or not seriously infested, will be treated with pesticide injections that have been proven to stave off the pest's effects, Mullard said.
More seriously infested ash trees will be removed and replaced in the fall with a different species.
Lake in the Hills now joins Algonquin, Huntley and Crystal Lake as McHenry County communities to have confirmed sightings of the Emerald Ash Borer.
The insect is a metallic green beetle native to Asia, approximately one-half inch in length. It's larvae feed on ash trees' inner bark, disrupting its ability to transport water and nutrients and eventually causing its death. Lake in the Hills officials will hold a public meeting on the invasion at 6:30 p.m. June 17 at the village hall, 600 Harvest Gate.
Anyone who suspects the Emerald Ash Borer is on a tree in front of their home is asked to call the village's public works department at (847) 960-7500.