Local officials estimate there are over 60,000 ash trees in Lincoln: 50,000 on private property and 14,000 (several thousand have been removed) on public property. I estimate 1 out of 10 ash trees are potential candidates for protection for EAB. If you have an ash tree on your property and you are reading this you are probably wanting to keep it, it is probably among the 10%! Untreated trees should removed soon or enjoyed until their demise is inevitable. A rational prediction is that significant incidence of canopy decline in ash trees in Lincoln is a year or two away , and widescale tree death will take several more years, and the loss of ALL unprotected trees in 10+ additional years.
A lack of understanding regarding EAB prevails in Lincoln as it has in other communities as the bug started spreading from the Great Lakes region 20 years ago. Initial methods of protecting trees were unsuccessful and this led to a general lack of trust in treatment methods, but treatment methods have improved dramatically since then. The current gold standard in treatment only attained that status approximately 9 years ago.
Many of Lincoln’s ash trees are part of a trend of too late adoption with regard to treatments and this will translate to reduced success rates. Underlying this shortcoming is the de facto strategy of waiting for damage before commencing treatment. Additionally, many ash are entering the EAB window with pre-existing damage from other boring insects. A lack of conductivity of the pesticide in borer-weakened vascular tissues (be it from EAB or the other less invasive native borers) is similar to the problem of trying to drink through a straw with holes in it. The very powerful insecticide can only protect the tree to the degree that it can flow throughout the tree–if we give insects a head start we fighting an uphill battle.
Thank you for reviewing the information on this site. If you have ANY questions or comments I hope you will give me, Will Frerichs, a ring to discuss. Call or text anytime at 402-476-0499.
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