Our white ash provides playground and picnic table shade. It’s loss would impact the community.

Lyon Park’s County Co-Champion white ash trees have been showing their age of late.  How much of the decline can be blamed on the onslaught of the dreaded Emerald Ash Boer (EAB) is hard to say.  The Lyon Park Community must care for its park’s trees (it is a community owned park rather than county owned) and we would rather not chance the loss of its huge ash trees to the EAB.  The best time to treat an ash for EAB is early springtime, mid-March to Mid-April so now is the best time.

We called our regular tree service company to ask for a treatment bid, but they  referred us to some of the larger companies with ongoing experience treating ash trees for EAB.  After checking out several, I met with our chosen arborist who recommended the use of imidacloprid, a soil treatment, rather than using an insecticide injected into the bark.  Both treatments have advantages and disadvantages, so this is where discussion with the chosen arborist is important.  Imidicloprid mimics nicotine, which is toxic to insects, and is taken up by the tree’s roots and translocated  throughout the tree’s xylem tissues where the EAB carve “S” shaped galleries.  Arborists recommend annual treatment and we hope these imidacloprid treatments save our huge ash trees.

The treatment cost will be $0.10 per inch diameter of the tree or $1,040 for Lyon Park’s 56” and 48” diameter white ashes — however not treating and allowing the trees to die would cost many times this for removal, plus possible damage to other structures.  The article below provides details on how to choose an arborist.  If you have questions about our choice, please leave a comment.