Carpentersville will remove hundreds of ash trees in next 2-3 years

The Village of Carpentersville has spent $620,980 on its efforts to control the emerald ash borer in recent years, and hundreds of ash trees have yet to be removed and replaced.

Since mitigation efforts began in 2012, the village's streets division has removed 1,770 trees, 1,159 of which have been replaced with a variety of species, public works Director Bob Cole said.

The presence of emerald ash borer - an invasive beetle that infects and eventually kills ash trees - in Carpentersville was confirmed in July 2011.

"We are planting a very diverse population of species, primarily because we don't want to run into the issue again where a disease or species devastates one population," he said.

Replacing each tree costs about $190, Cole said.

The 691 remaining ash trees that need to be removed, which Cole estimates would take about two to three years, are surveyed twice a year.

"We know where just about every tree is as far as the deterioration process," he said.

Ash borer infestation symptoms include crown dieback, meaning that the branches will begin to die starting at the top of the tree, according to the Illinois Department of Agriculture. New branches will then begin to sprout from the trunk and base of the tree, and small D-shaped holes might be found on the trunk or branches.

Carpentersville is continuing to offer a cost-share program for residents and homeowners' associations who voluntarily replace the trees. After an approved tree has been planted, they would receive $100, a cost that was bumped up from $50 last year.

The village has spent $65,600 on the cost-share program since it began three years ago.