The Dangerous Species Invading Edmonton Trees: All You Need to Know About Emerald Ash Borer Beetles
There are many invasive pests, but the emerald ash borer has established itself as one of the most destructive wood-boring beetles in North America. The spread of the disease within Canada has killed millions of trees, specifically ash trees. If your Edmonton yard is flourishing with beautiful native ash trees, you should be wary of this invasive beetle and its devastating consequences.
Keep on reading to learn more about the emerald ash borer, the detection of emerald ash borer beetles, and how to reduce the spread of emerald ash borer populations. The Edmonton arborists at Trusty Tree Services have insight into everything you need to know about this pesky beetle.
How the Emerald Ash Borer Made its Way To North America
The emerald ash borer (Agrilus Planipennis) is an invasive wood-boring beetle in North America. Native to eastern Asia, such as in China and Eastern Russia, it was brought over to the United States sometime in the 1990s as a result of wooden packing materials. Emerald ash borers eventually made their way over from the U.S to Canada and were first observed in Ontario in 2002. By 2023, they spread down to British Columbia, making this pesky insect a widespread problem for Canadian forestry.
The Damage of the Emerald Ash Borer in Edmonton
You may be wondering what makes the emerald ash borer an invasive species threat to the Edmonton ecosystem. While these beautifully coloured beetles are not yet in Edmonton, The City is treating them as a critical threat; they have become one of the main causes of the death of ash trees. Ash trees are deciduous trees that make up a large portion of the tree population in both forests and urban areas. Ash trees in North America provide habitat for creatures, shade for animals and people, and make wonderful wood products that help stimulate local commerce. As an important aspect of Edmonton’s ecosystem and economy, biological control of the emerald ash borer is a necessity.
The Nature of the Emerald Ash Borer Pest and How It Kills Ash Trees
Emerald ash borer larvae live within the bark crevices of ash trees. While their adult beetles are a metallic green colour, their larvae are white in colour. They are also long, reaching 26-32 mm. While embedded in the tree’s bark, the emerald ash borer larvae chew on the bark, creating S-shaped galleries along the cambium layer of the trees, which in turn blocks nutrients from the tree, eventually killing it altogether. That’s why the detection of emerald ash borer pests is crucial in your personal tree care.
What Local Edmonton Residents Can Do to Help Prevent the Invasive Species
Now that you know how harmful the emerald ash borer is to Edmonton’s ecosystem, you may be wondering what you can do to help. As a local resident, there is a responsibility to maintain the native ash trees. That being said, nobody expects you to be a forest ranger or beetle hunter. Rather, there are small but extremely effective ways you can help reduce this invasive species. Here’s what you can do:
- Learn how to identify signs of EAB infestation: It is essential to know the telltale signs of an emerald ash borer infestation. Common signs include bark cracks, D-shaped or small holes in the trunk. The health of your tree is also an indicator, such as canopy thinning or brittle bark.
- Report sightings to municipal forestry authorities: If you see one, report it immediately. These sightings must be reported to Edmonton’s forestry department to help track and reduce the spread of these beetles.
- Create awareness and educate others: Don’t keep this information all to yourself; tell your friends, family, and neighbours what you have learned about the emerald ash borer.
- Properly dispose of infested wood: You can’t just toss infected wood wherever you please, as it can easily spread to healthy ash trees. If you don’t know how to dispose of the firewood properly, contact the city’s environment department.
The Proper Emerald Ash Borer Treatment
The city of Edmonton will address emerald ash borer infestations with a “slow ash mortality” approach. This is a systematic approach to treating and slowing the impact on trees, utilizing techniques such as pesticide injections, monitoring girdled trap trees, and tree removal. Here’s more insight:
- Pesticide treatment: When a tree is infested with these wood-boring beetles, we may provide pesticide treatments. This process involves injecting a botanical pesticide into healthy ash trees to try to protect them.
- Systemic insecticides: These insecticides (including imidacloprid and emamectin benzoate) disrupt larvae in the tree, helping remove the pests without killing the tree.
- Tree removal: Overly infested trees can’t always be salvaged with this treatment. Rather than saving the infested trees, protecting the surrounding trees may be the next best approach. That’s why tree removal can be another reliable course of action.
- Tree traps: Arborists may remove a ring of bark from the ash tree to attract the emerald ash borers. The female insects ready to lay eggs are attracted to ash tree bark. From there, monitoring will be used to collect data on emerald ash borer populations.
Have Questions About Your Trees? Call Trusty Tree Services Today!
Trusty Tree Services is here to help! We have extensive knowledge on both diagnosing and treating diseased trees. Whether we can save the tree with pesticide injections or need to remove the entire tree, stump included, to prevent it from spreading to your healthy ash trees, you can count on us to help find effective solutions for this pesky problem.
Contact us today at 780-860-5500 to schedule an appointment with our team of arborists.