URBANA, Ill. — Emerald ash borer adults are emerging from Illinois to Ohio and points northward. Todd Gleason has more on what to do if you want to save your tree.
They’ll continue to do so for several weeks and it means now is the time to treat for them in hopes of saving your Ash tree. This should most definitely be done if the emerald ash borer has been found within fifteen miles of your tree says University of Illinois Extension Entomologist Phil Nixon.
Nixon : If you treat the trees on an annual or bi-annual basis for approximately 20 years, this is about the amount of time it will take for the untreated trees to all die, then the number of emerald ash borer drops down and the boys cannot find the girls and you eliminate the problem.
Again, you can save your Ash tree, but it’ll take about twenty years to do that… if the experience in the state of Michigan is any guide. You or a professional can do that by making an insecticide application.
Nixon : The beetles are out right now. They are about half-an-inch long. They are metallic green, emerald green and they come out of holes that are about one-eighth of and inch wide and D shaped, flat on one side and round on the other. The larvae girdle the trees underneath the bark. This kills the trees from the top down over a span of about eight years.
Call your local Extension office for more details about the process and how best to go about treating for the Emerald Ash Borer.
[read blog post](http://web.extension.— Phil Nixon, Extension Entomologist – University of Illinois
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