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Eat pizza, learn about ash-killing pest

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By Alma Gaul | Friday, April 04, 2008 | No comments posted

Do you have dinner plans for Tuesday, April 15?

The Iowa State University/Scott County Extension Service would like to invite you to its Bettendorf office for pizza and an update on stopping the emerald ash borer, a pest from Asia that has caused the death and removal of more than 25 million ash trees in the United States.

The pest as been found as close to the Quad-Cities as LaSalle County, Ill., about 85 miles away.

What ISU entomologist Mark Shour would most like to convey is that people should not let down their guard. “Keep it on your radar,” he said of the emerald ash borer. “Don’t forget about it.”

Specifically, people should not transport firewood from place to place, since “that is the most likely way (it) will come to Iowa” and to new places in Illinois, he said.

Also, young ash trees for landscaping should not be bought or sold out of Illinois.

Shour also will discuss research efforts to prevent or eradicate the pest. Last fall, three species of wasps from Asia that are the emerald ash borer’s natural enemies were released in Michigan, and more will be released this year. It is too soon to tell whether the effort has been successful, he said.

One wasp species feeds on the borer’s eggs and the other two on its larvae. Because of this species-specific food source, entomologists are not worried that the wasp will get out of control, as did the Asian lady beetle, which was purposely introduced into this country to kill a pecan tree pest in the South. The difference, Shour explained, is that the Asian lady beetle eats other pests as well and thus spread.

Researchers also are working with chemical controls. A product called Tree-Age with the active ingredient emamectin benzoate has shown good results in Michigan with 95-100 percent control of larvae, he said. Again, more testing is needed, he said.

In the Quad-City area, some people with ash trees have treated their trees with preventative products containing imidacloprid, either as a soil drench or tree injection, but the Iowa State University Extension Service does not recommend this.

They say it needlessly introduces chemicals into the environment. Plus there is the chance that a tree would have to be removed regardless of treatment if the pest is identified in an area and a quarantine is imposed.

Treatment is expensive – about $100 per year – and has to be repeated annually. If one can afford that, perhaps it would be better to remove the tree and plant a different species, Shour said.

Shour has been working with emerald ash borer issues for five years now, following its first detection near Detroit in 2002.

Overall, he is encouraged by control efforts. “Control options are developing; there is a little bit of hope,” he said.

His presentation in Bettendorf will be aimed at a wide audience, from homeowners to city foresters and tree company professionals.

Alma Gaul can be contacted at (563) 383-2324 or agaul@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.

IF YOU GO

What: Pizza and the Pest, a presentation on the emerald ash borer

When: 5:30-8 p.m. Tuesday, April 15

Where: Scott County Extension office, 875 Tanglefoot Lane, Bettendorf

How much: $5; call the Extension office at (563) 359-7577 by Friday (April 11)

For more information: Visit emeraldashborer.info/. Also, illinoisarborist.org or agr.state.il.us/Environment/ Pest/index.html