Neighbors tree has Emerald Ash Borers

[ICWestfan]

This in NL. They'll be taking it down today. A good shade tree, and the one in between our drives is infested but they treated that so we'll see. About every other tree in our neighborhood is an Ash.

It will be interesting to see how many go and how soon.

 

[Greenway4Prez]

It’s a shame, it costs $250-$300 to treat a mature ash, every other year.

In my opinion, it’s a no-brainer for anyone who wants to keep their ash trees.

 

[Greenway4Prez]

Also, Japanese Beetles are just decimating things right now. Holy smokes, the linden trees are basically defoliated.

 

[Old_wrestling_fan]

Also, Japanese Beetles are just decimating things right now. Holy smokes, the linden trees are basically defoliated.

Tell me more please. ^^ I have been watching a tree in our yard suffer this year, probably 80% of the one half of it is denuded. I admit, I haven't looked close enough to see any beetles though. I was suspecting that the harsh winter was the culprit. It is a London Plane Tree.

 

[markfromj]

It’s a shame, it costs $250-$300 to treat a mature ash, every other year.

In my opinion, it’s a no-brainer for anyone who wants to keep their ash trees.

This. And the treatment is very effective, and effective not only at prevention but in curing an infestation, if not too far along.

 

[Obviously Oblivious]

Also, Japanese Beetles are just decimating things right now. Holy smokes, the linden trees are basically defoliated.

I have two lindens in my front yard and you're right, they're back with a vengeance again. I treated the yard with milky spore last year but it can take several years for the stuff to take care of them. I hate those metallic green bastards!

 

[3 and Out on D]

Mine had that upon purchase over 16 years ago. Bought house in winter and trees were dead in the spring. After we moved in the neighbor said that the previous owner was trying to treat he trees but was unsuccessful. The good news was that the trees were on city property (between the road and sidewalk) and the city took care of removing and replacing the trees.

 

[Obviously Oblivious]

Tell me more please. ^^ I have been watching a tree in our yard suffer this year, probably 80% of the one half of it is denuded. I admit, I haven't looked close enough to see any beetles though. I was suspecting that the harsh winter was the culprit. It is a London Plane Tree.

This is the Japanese Beetle. A truly worthless creature.

This is the stuff to use to get rid of them (allegedly) but it can take several years to do so.

 

[Hawkfan_08]

Japanese beetles killed one of our plants out back already. It was just about the only Bush living back there. Its roached now.

I dont think there are many, if any big trees in my neighborhood in NL. The soil here is awful.

 

[Old_wrestling_fan]

This is the Japanese Beetle. A truly worthless creature.

This is the stuff to use to get rid of them (allegedly) but it can take several years to do so.

I recognize that as a Japanese Beetle, I just don't recall seeing any of them around that tree lately. I plan on looking closer tonight though. Are London Plane Trees vulnerable to these beasts too? A London Plane Tree is a kissing cousin to a sycamore.

 

[LuteHawk]

Some years ago several streets in Davenport lost
their Elm trees on their boulevards to Dutch Elm
disease. Always a sad sight to behold. It amounted
to 50 Elm trees which had to be removed.

 

[McLovin32]

Some years ago several streets in Davenport lost
their Elm trees on their boulevards to Dutch Elm
disease. Always a sad sight to behold.

 

[Tiny Hands Trump]

Bang your neighbor's wife. The borers will respect you and leave your property alone.

 

[brownd7949hawks]

This is the Japanese Beetle. A truly worthless creature.

This is the stuff to use to get rid of them (allegedly) but it can take several years to do so.

We have a citronella candle on our patio, there’s like 50 of those things inside of it dead.

 

[QChawks]

I infested OP's mom last night

 

[Obviously Oblivious]

I recognize that as a Japanese Beetle, I just don't recall seeing any of them around that tree lately. I plan on looking closer tonight though. Are London Plane Trees vulnerable to these beasts too? A London Plane Tree is a kissing cousin to a sycamore.

I'm not seeing them as highly susceptible to the JB, but these beetles are ravenous and IMO would eat anything in their path. If you're finding dead leaves a surefire sign of JB is that they eat the meat of the leaves and they leave the veins of the leaf intact, making the leaf look skeletonized, which turn brown rather quickly and fall to the ground.

 

[Old_wrestling_fan]

I'm not seeing them as highly susceptible to the JB, but these beetles are ravenous and IMO would eat anything in their path. If you're finding dead leaves a surefire sign of JB is that they eat the meat of the leaves and they leave the veins of the leaf intact, making the leaf look skeletonized, which turn brown rather quickly and fall to the ground.

I just looked at the tree a few minutes ago and I am not thinking it is the beetles. I saw no beetles and oddly the affected area of the tree appears to be 95% limited to one side of the tree. (Note - this tree is double leadered and we had a tree Dr. "treat" it a few years ago to address the double leader. He mechanically attached the two leaders in a couple of spots to keep it from splitting.)

It is just one side of the tree that is affected. It seems as though the issue may be that the weaker side is dying off. Perhaps a high wind even twisted the tree enough that the one side now cannot get nutrients up and down the cambium? I'll give it another year and then see what I think. I suspect I will be slicing 1/2 of that tree away though...which in retrospect is probably what I should have done a few years ago when the defect was noted.

 

[Accipiter]

This last winter here in IC was the most brutal I've seen in my almost 70 years of living in Iowa in terms of killing shrubs and trees; I think it was the combination of having record breaking warmth up until mid-January, so woody plants weren't really dormant, then the horrible blast of -29 cold with high winds. Many of these plants had their vascular system just explode. I lost 30 year old magnolias, about 25 Japanese maples, and many other woody plants, and saw something I never have seen or even thought could happen: Tatarian honeysuckles in the woods, many 25 feet or more tall, died back almost to the ground. I didn't think that was remotely possible.

 

[joelbc1]

Some years ago several streets in Davenport lost
their Elm trees on their boulevards to Dutch Elm
disease. Always a sad sight to behold. It amounted
to 50 Elm trees which had to be removed.

“Several years ago”? Hells bells.....I guess 50 years ago would qualify as “ several”.....Dutch Elm disease was an infestation of the early and mid 60’s in my home town.....it ate’m up on the two major residential streets in my home town....damn near every tree seemed to have been painted with an orange “x”....

 

[jamesvanderwulf]

Yeah, I think it was '69 when the biggest Elm tree on the Pentacrest had to be cut down. It stood at the end of Iowa Avenue where it tees into Madison. It was huge and they planted a lot of seedless Ashes in place of the dead Elms...

 

[Old_wrestling_fan]

This last winter here in IC was the most brutal I've seen in my almost 70 years of living in Iowa in terms of killing shrubs and trees; I think it was the combination of having record breaking warmth up until mid-January, so woody plants weren't really dormant, then the horrible blast of -29 cold with high winds. Many of these plants had their vascular system just explode. I lost 30 year old magnolias, about 25 Japanese maples, and many other woody plants, and saw something I never have seen or even thought could happen: Tatarian honeysuckles in the woods, many 25 feet or more tall, died back almost to the ground. I didn't think that was remotely possible.

Unfortunately, I think you are right. I have other trees in my yard and elsewhere that I have observed that are looking puny this year. Do you sense that it is irreversible or something that many of the trees will bounce back from next year?

 

[BigDelHawk]

Some years ago several streets in Davenport lost
their Elm trees on their boulevards to Dutch Elm
disease. Always a sad sight to behold. It amounted
to 50 Elm trees which had to be removed.

It was sadder than you think. Davenport used to bill itself as "The City of Elms", When they all died, many were replaced with Ash.

 

[Pinehawk]

They just took down a few massive Elm(?) trees in Mercer Park in Iowa City. Pretty sad.

 

[dandh]

This is the Japanese Beetle. A truly worthless creature.

This is the stuff to use to get rid of them (allegedly) but it can take several years to do so.

The other part to getting rid of them is convincing all of your neighbors to treat their lawns regularly, too.

 

[Greenway4Prez]

I have two lindens in my front yard and you're right, they're back with a vengeance again. I treated the yard with milky spore last year but it can take several years for the stuff to take care of them. I hate those metallic green bastards!

Bayer Advanced Tree & Shrub Insect Treatment.

It’s a trunk drench that has imidacloprid, which will make the trees poisonous to the beetles.

 

[Greenway4Prez]

Tell me more please. ^^ I have been watching a tree in our yard suffer this year, probably 80% of the one half of it is denuded. I admit, I haven't looked close enough to see any beetles though. I was suspecting that the harsh winter was the culprit. It is a London Plane Tree.

Those are in the Sycamore family, my money is on anthracnose being the culprit. That disease isn’t typically fatal, and sycamores usually produce another round of leaves after being affected. The edges of the lead will curl up, then fall to the ground. I’ve seen ash and maple get anthracnose this year too.

 

[Pinehawk]

I've had Japanese beetles hit a sycamore tree pretty hard. Chewed up some river birch pretty badly as well.

Apples, pears, roses...you name it, they will eat about anything it seems.

 

[Rifler]

I apply Sevin once a year,... really effective against the Japanese beetles...

 

[Old_wrestling_fan]

Those are in the Sycamore family, my money is on anthracnose being the culprit. That disease isn’t typically fatal, and sycamores usually produce another round of leaves after being affected. The edges of the lead will curl up, then fall to the ground. I’ve seen ash and maple get anthracnose this year too.

I could not see any sign of leaf "chewage"...more like the leaves just didn't form well on the one side. The "healthy" side is fully leafed out, but even then the leaves look to be about 2/3 of normal size this year.

My lean right now is what Accipter referred to above...latent storm damage. I think I will have the tree doctor out for a visit, I would not want to lose this tree if it is salvageable.

 

[Pinehawk]

I apply Sevin once a year,... really effective against the Japanese beetles...

I did this once and it worked...but I couldn't spray it high enough to protect the entire tree.
I mixed it up in a backpack sprayer and hosed down what I could.

 

[Rifler]

I did this once and it worked...but I couldn't spray it high enough to protect the entire tree.
I mixed it up in a backpack sprayer and hosed down what I could.

Yes, full size trees would be difficult,... I'm using it mostly on ornamental and dwarf varieties....

 

[jellyfish10]

My community was proactive in taking ash trees down. I was against it hoping that they would attempt to save some of them. This year the EAB has wreaked havoc. There are dead trees everywhere. My folks live just north of here and have treated their ash trees. So far, so good.

My issue is this. Being in an industry that revolves in part around trees, almost everyone wants a tree that is fast growing with fall color. Because the soil in most new developments is absolute garbage, options are limited. Because soil requirements are essentially ignored, the result is home after home with autumn blaze maples. Instead of having diversity in our trees, we have basically one variety being planted. What happens when a pest makes it way to maple trees? We will start this process all over again.

 

[Rifler]

My community was proactive in taking ash trees down. I was against it hoping that they would attempt to save some of them. This year the EAB has wreaked havoc. There are dead trees everywhere. My folks live just north of here and have treated their ash trees. So far, so good.

My issue is this. Being in an industry that revolves in part around trees, almost everyone wants a tree that is fast growing with fall color. Because the soil in most new developments is absolute garbage, options are limited. Because soil requirements are essentially ignored, the result is home after home with autumn blaze maples. Instead of having diversity in our trees, we have basically one variety being planted. What happens when a pest makes it way to maple trees? We will start this process all over again.

Lots of truth here,.. Over the years we've gone from elm trees to ash trees to maple trees,... just a matter of time....