City of Rochester
News Release
(Tuesday, May 31, 2011) – City Forestry crews will begin treating public ash trees in city neighborhoods with an insecticide to protect the tree from the Emerald Ash Borer beetle today, with work scheduled to begin in the Southwest Quadrant. Homeowners with ash trees in front of their homes will receive letters detailing the project. All ash trees in the public rights-of-way and in city parks will be treated with the insecticide. There is no need for residents to take any action.
Forestry crews will inject the insecticide, called TREE-age, directly into the tree’s vascular system through several plugs that seal it inside the tree. This treatment is expected to protect the tree for a period of two to three years, at which point it may be eligible for another treatment.
The City’s Forestry Division has surveyed the condition and mapped the location of approximately 4,400 ash trees that will need the TREE-age treatment as part of the City’s proactive approach to mitigate the impact of the Emerald Ash Borer. About 300 trees in poor condition will be removed and replaced with new trees that are not susceptible to the Emerald Ash Borer. Eventually all ash trees will have to be replaced with one of a different species.
The Emerald Ash Borer is a small but very destructive beetle that is responsible for the death of tens of millions of ash trees in 15 states (Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Kentucky and most recently, New York). The Emerald Ash Borer was discovered in Monroe County last year.
Native to China and eastern Asia, the invasive insect arrived in North America hidden in wooden packing materials used to ship consumer goods. The beetle attacks only ash trees and an infestation is always fatal to the host tree. Infected trees decline from the top down and die within one to three years.
For more information about the program, visit www.cityofrochester.gov/emeraldashborer.
For more information on the Emerald Ash Borer or treatment options for trees on private property visit www.aphis.usda.gov.
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News Media: For more information, contact Brian Liberti, City Forester at 428-6971.