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Emerald ash borers have made their way into Washington County. They may look exotic with their metallic green covering, but these Chinese beetles are nothing but slow killers, according to experts. The insects work their way into an ash tree and kill it, depending on the size, in only one to four years time.
According to the Marietta Tree Commission, ash borers reached the county two summers ago, and it has been an endless fight since then to treat the trees being affected.
“East Muskingum Park has lost seven to eight big ash trees already, and there are a lot more that need to come down,” said Tanner Huffman, superintendent of public facilities for the city. “There are also four to five other big trees in Buckeye Park that have been completely damaged.”
Tom Perry, executive director of Strategic Communications and Marketing at Marietta College, said over the past six to eight years, 23 ash trees have been destroyed and taken down on campus.
According to americanforests.org, in 2002, ash borers infected North American territory for the first time. A year later they were found in Ohio. Since their arrival they have killed more than 40 million hardwood ash trees in southeastern Michigan and millions in Ohio.
Cheyenne Oaks, secretary of the Marietta Tree Commission, said all of the ash trees in Marietta have been affected by the beetles, and there’s not much anybody can do to stop it.
“There is a spray we’re using, but we aren’t sure if it’s 100 percent effective yet. We won’t know until next year if the spray will work,” said Oaks. “We will use these on the trees that haven’t been as damaged, and trees that are big and healthy.”
There are no known natural enemies in this country to eliminate the beetles.
Huffman said the fight is hopeless by the time the trees are reached.
“By the time we get to them they are dead and if they are in a highly populated area, we cut the tops of the tree of because the branches are so weak, and can fall very easily and potentially harm people,” he said. “We eventually come back and cut down the rest of it.”
These beetles primarily attack dying, stressed or damaged trees, therefore according to the local tree commission if trees are maintained and healthy, they will be less susceptible to the beetles.
Originally, ash borers made their way into the states through ash wood being used for stabilizing cargo in ships or for packing or crating heavy consumer products.
Ash borers are most commonly transferred through fire wood, which in the state of Ohio is illegal.
“Limiting firewood movement helps the state protect against the artificial spread of many pests in addition to emerald ash borer, including gypsy moth and Asian long horned beetle,” said Ohio Agriculture Director Robert Boggs in a press release. “The department strongly urges Ohioans to continue buying firewood locally.”
Though ash borers only have a one-to-two-year life span, their damage indefinitely ends the life of the trees that fill our neighborhoods and parks.
“It’s here and it’s spread, now it’s just a matter of protecting what we have,” said Oaks.