Burr Rige Continues Protecting Trees From Emerald Ash Borer

The Emerald Ash Borer is a problem in Burr Ridge.

The EAB beetle is infesting ash trees in the area, essentially starving them. When enough of these one-half-inch long insects are living within an ash tree, they destroy the system that moves nutrients throughout the tree. When enough of them are living within a tree, the bark pulls away from the wood. There may be thousands of bores in one tree.

“It’s like a traffic jam,” said Gary Gatlin, Burr Ridge Village arborist.

In Illinois, there are approximately 130 million ash trees, according to the Illinois Department of Agriculture. They comprise nearly 25 percent of the trees in Burr Ridge that lie on property along the streets, and that the village is responsible for.

“EAB is an ongoing threat to the health of trees throughout the area. Unfortunately, it’s here to stay,” said Bonnie Olszewski, public affairs specialist for the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County.

Ontario and states including Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Kentucky have also lost trees, Gatlin said.

The Village of Burr Ridge treated 500 trees last year, out of a total of 2,200 ash trees along the village streets. However, the community has only had to remove 15 trees since EAB was first discovered in the area in July 2008, Gatlin said.

In 2009 and 2010, the village budgeted $22,000 total for ash tree treatment, while for 2011, it has budgeted $28,000, Gatlin said.

“We’re happy with the way that the treatment has worked for us. It’s all experimental,” he added.

“[EAB] is one more thing for the [Forest Preserve] district to monitor, pay attention to and cooperate about with other agencies monitoring the situation,” Olszewski said. For instance, the District is working with the Illinois Department of Agriculture to survey trees and set traps for adult beetles.

“We’re diligent in monitoring and minimizing long-term effects,” Olszewski said.

Burr Ridge is currently treating trees within a two-mile radius of where it was first discovered, Gatlin said. EAB is expanding by one-half mile each year.

Burr Ridge uses the insecticide imidachloprid to treat its trees, by injecting it in the soil, close to the roots. “It’s not stopping the infestation, but it’s slowing it down quite a bit,” Gatlin said.

Homeowners concerned about EAB have three options. The first two are effective 90 percent to 93 percent of the time — meaning that if there were 100 bores in a tree, these treatments would kill 90 to 93 of them, Gatlin said. The third treatment is effective 99 percent of the time.

The first option is imidachloprid, which homeowners can use by mixing it and then placing it at the base of a tree. This is the least expensive of the treatments, and is almost as effective as the soil injection of this pesticide that the village uses, Gatlin said.

The second alternative is the insecticide Safari, which should be sprayed on the trunk of a tree, which will absorb it.

The third possibility is the most effective and expensive, Gatlin said. It involves hiring a certified arborist to insert a product called Tree-age into the trunk of a tree.

“If you want to save a tree, start treating it now,” Gatlin said. “It’s not a matter of if, just when” it will become infested. “We don’t know the end result, we’re trying our best to save trees,” he said.