Gluck Tree Care, Inc. - Emerald Ash Borer

Emerald Ash Borer

Many homeowners have been asking us about the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). We are receiving new information daily; however we will update you on what information we have at this time. As of March 10th, 2009 EAB has been found in trees on an additional 44 sites around the Newburg area, including the Milwaukee River corridor and Hwy. 33 going East and West of Newburg.

       Emerald Ash Borer is here. Now What?
     The Emerald Ash Borer is an invasive wood-boring beetle that attacks the vascular system of Ash trees. On August 1st, 2008 populations of these insects were identified in northern Ozaukee and northern Washington County. This discovery could put many of our Ash trees in serious trouble. Wisconsin has an estimated 737 million Ash trees and the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) will attack any variety of Ash (fraxinus family) regardless of the health of the tree.
     Since this discovery, the arborists at Gluck Tree Care, Inc. have been attending a number of meetings to stay abreast of the situation. These meetings put on by the DNR, WDATCP and WAA have provided us with the current activities of these organizations, in regard to EAB as well as the recommendations and treatment options. In Michigan and other states a policy of cutting all Ash trees within a 5 mile radius of the epicenter has been employed with very little success, at controlling the insect. Wisconsin at this time is not going to do cutting, especially on private land. Homeowners are on their own as far as how they want to protect their trees. The recommendation, however is that trees within a 10 mile radius of the epicenter (Newburg) be treated as soon as possible for prevention of attack. We feel that a number of these trees may already be under attack, at which point aggressive treatment will need to be done if these trees are to be saved.
     A lot of study and testing of products has been going on since the initial attack of 2002 in Detroit, Michigan. Gluck Tree Care, Inc. has been following these tests, as well as others. We are using and recommending what has been tested the most, and has the best track record. Our first line of defense is an early spring soil, root injection of imidacloprid. This will give your tree a full season of protection. This treatment also helps with other pests such as Ash Plant Bug. We strongly recommend this non-invasive treatment, especially if you are outside of a 10 mile radius of Newburg, WI. If you live within 10 miles of Newburg or you have very, very high value Ash trees that you want immediate protection for, we recommend that you have the imidacloprid injected, into the trees with the “wedgle”. This is the number one direct injection method for control of EAB. There are more successful applications done with the wedgle than any other method because of one simple fact – NO DRILLING! All the other trunk injection methods require drilling the tree and some require placing a large plastic plug into the cambium area. This means the tree must expend precious energy to compartmentalize and recover from the drill wounds. The wedgle does not use drilling and does not allow air to enter the trees vessels so it does not expend energy in the healing process. The tree can use this energy to grow and stay healthy.
     Spring is just around the corner! The days of “we’ll wait and see what happens with EAB” are behind us. EAB is here and NOW is the time to help our trees. We are currently putting our list together for spring treatments. If you would like more information on EAB or would like information on tree care, please contact a professional, certified arborist. Gluck Tree Care, Inc. of Random Lake employs certified arborists and has been in the arboriculture business for over 21 years. Our certified arborists must follow stringent safety and performance standards. We carry full insurance, and have a trained and professional staff that is dedicated to ethics and quality in business practices.