Vernon Hills readies for emerald ash borer
The graceful canopies of ash trees overhanging some streets in Vernon Hills could be in danger as the village prepares to deal with a tree-killing beetle.
Confirmed in the village last summer by the Illinois Department of Agriculture, the emerald ash borer has become prevalent enough that village crews soon will be removing infected trees.
The task is expected to be large enough that non-forestry workers may be shifted to help. How many trees will go is unknown.
“It’s very likely they’ve substantially spread already,” Public Works Director David Brown said of the metallic green beetle that has devastated millions of trees in the Midwest. “I think the answer will be how many (infected trees) is manageable for us to remove within a year.”
The village also is planning a public education campaign to include door hangers with information regarding the beetles — particularly in areas expected to be hard hit, such as New Century Town north of Route 60 and east of Butterfield Road.
The majority of ash trees in that neighborhood appear to be infested, Brown said, and woodpeckers have been hammering away in search of borers.
“You’ll see this beige-colored mottled damage from the woodpecker trying to get at the larva,” Brown said. “What we’ve learned from others is follow the woodpeckers.”
There are about 3,600 ash trees in the public right of way in Vernon Hills. Removing them all, grinding the stumps, and planting replacement trees would cost an estimated $1.8 million.
How far or how fast the borer will spread also is unknown, although Brown has a grim outlook. That could be bad news for areas such as the Deerpath subdivision where 35-year-old ash trees present a sweeping canopy over the streets.
At the Vernon Hills Park District, the attitude is more hopeful. The district is in the second year of a chemical treatment program for 227 ash trees of eight inches or more in diameter to try and delay or stop the beetle.
About 15 damaged ash trees were cut down this winter as a preventive measure, Hayes said, but there was no sign of the emerald ash borer.
In Libertyville, the emerald ash borer was confirmed last year on Mayfair Drive, where seven trees were removed but it is unclear if it has spread, said Jim Barlow, superintendent of parks.
“We think we have it but we’re not sure,” he said.
In Lake County, the emerald ash borer has been confirmed in Beach Park, Buffalo Grove, Lake Forest, Round Lake, Gurnee, Wauconda, Highland Park and Barrington Hills.
“If there’s just one beetle in one ash tree, all of the ash trees in the area are threatened,” said Juliann Heminghous, outreach coordinator for the Illinois Department of Agriculture.
She said it can take six or seven years for the effects of an infestation to show.
“If it’s been found in one location, it’s just a matter of time,” she said.
Chemicals can buy some time and there is hope a predator wasp, introduced in some locations in 2009, can stop the spread, she added.
Brown noted there are triple or more the number of ash trees on private property as on public parkways.
“It’s going to be more intense education,” Brown said of the pending effort. “People may hear about it but it doesn’t really hit home until it hits home.”