Emerald ash borer, a small green beetle from Asia, was confirmed in Chattanooga in July 2013, in ash trees near the rail lines. It has spread across the region since. If you have an ash tree in your yard that hasn’t been treated, there’s a good chance it’s infested or dead.
How to tell if you have an ash tree
- Opposite branching. Branches and buds grow in pairs, directly across from each other.
- Compound leaves. Each leaf is made of 5 to 9 leaflets along one stem.
- Diamond-patterned bark on mature trees, with ridges that form a criss-cross pattern.
Signs of emerald ash borer
- Thinning leaves and dead branches starting at the top of the tree
- Small D-shaped exit holes in the bark, about an eighth of an inch across
- Bark splitting, with S-shaped tunnels underneath
- Woodpeckers stripping bark, called blonding because it leaves pale patches
- Clusters of new shoots sprouting from the trunk low down
Treat it or take it down?
An ash that still has most of its canopy can often be saved with insecticide injected into the trunk, repeated every couple of years. Treatment generally makes sense when the tree is healthy, valuable to you, and has lost less than about a third of its canopy.
Once more than half the canopy is gone, treatment rarely works and removal is usually the better choice. Don’t wait long. Ash killed by the beetle dries out and becomes brittle unusually fast, so dead ash is dangerous for climbers and often has to come down with a bucket truck or crane, which costs more. A dead ash removed this year is almost always cheaper than the same tree two years from now.
What to do with the wood
Ash wood makes good firewood, but don’t move it far. Moving firewood is one of the main ways the beetle spreads. Burn it locally or let the crew chip and haul it.
Next steps
If you think you have an infested ash, have a crew look at it while there’s still a choice to make. Call (423) 275-4820 for a free written estimate on removal, or ask about treatment options.
Need a tree crew around Chattanooga?
Call (423) 275-4820 or send a few details. We’ll match you with an independent local crew for a free written estimate, usually the same day.