What Should Communities Do About Their Ash Trees Before EAB Arrives?
Because dead and dying trees pose risk to life and property, urban ash management options consist of tree removal or pesticide treatment. Tree removal can be reactive, once trees are infested, or preemptive to trees that are not infested. Because the financial, environmental and social impacts of EAB can be acutely high, many communities in EAB’s path have chosen to soften the blow through gradual, prioritized, preemptive removal of some of their public ash trees. A municipal tree inventory is invaluable for prioritizing preemptive removals because it can identify ash trees in poor condition, with excessive maintenance needs, in conflict with utility lines or other problem trees. Under the circumstances, removal of such trees is not difficult to justify. Though pesticide effectiveness varies, in certain circumstances chemical control may be an option for some communities. Read more about pesticides for EAB in the Insecticide Options for Protecting Trees from EAB. What Can Communities D
