Green Horizons

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Greenville Campground is located in Wayne County. This is the only Missouri county where the movement of ash wood products and all hardwood firewood is regulated.

Upon learning of the arrival of the emerald ash borer in the Show-Me State, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the classic scene in Poltergeist I where the little girl sheepishly spoke those words above.

Seven emerald ash borers were found in July in traps at Greenville Recreation Area in southeast Missouri’s Wayne County. The small, metallic green beetle is native to Asia. Its larvae burrow into the bark of ash trees, causing trees to starve and die.

The beetle was first found in Michigan in 2002, and has reached at least seven other states, killing tens of millions of trees along the way. Missouri is the farthest south and west of the known infestation.

It is highly unlikely that we will be able to eradicate the infestation. Other states have spent millions of dollars to no avail. Slowing the spread is what we’re trying to do now.

Doug LeDoux, pest survey coordinator for the Missouri Department of Agriculture, agreed that eradication is unlikely, in part because property owners may not recognize the symptoms for years after a tree is under attack. "The beetles hit the tree from the top down and it’s very difficult to see the damage the first couple of years," he said.

While ash trees only make up about 3 percent of Missouri’s forests, they compose on average 14 percent of trees in cities and towns across the state. And in some municipalities that makeup can be more than 30 percent.Thousands in Forest Park in St. Louis are ash and approximately 40 percent of the trees on the grounds of the Gateway Arch are ash.

Communities and homeowners like ash trees because they grow well in city environments, don’t create much of a mess, are colorful in the fall, are generally symmetrical and provide nice shade.

A relative risk map showing the number of ash trees growing in Missouri’s 114 counties.

MaryAnn Fink, executive director of the Missouri Landscape & Nursery Association, said responsible growers and landscapers have been moving away from using ash trees for a long time. "We knew this was coming," Fink said. "An educated and important thing we do for the environment is make sure we’re not adding to the problem."

It’s going to be traumatic when the ash borer infestations hit urban and suburban areas. Urban foresters are encouraging municipalities to get a survey in place and start to know what they’re going to do when it shows up.

When that is, is anybody’s guess. To slow the movement, state and federal officials are cutting down ash trees within a two-mile radius of the site where the first ash borers were found. And last month, the state ordered a quarantine of ash wood, ash products and hardwood firewood from Wayne County. Any ash or firewood coming out of the county must be heat-treated to kill the insects.

While only discovered in July, officials now believe the ash borer has been at the Greenville site for much longer. Survey work conducted by state and federal experts indicates the pest has been there at least five years, maybe longer.

Officials believe the ash borer found its way to the recreation area through firewood brought in by campers. A statewide campaign is being coordinated among the Missouri Departments of Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources, the USFS Mark Twain National Forest, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and MU Extension encouraging anyone who uses firewood for camping or home use to "buy it locally and use it locally."

The good news is that so far, the ash borer has not been found elsewhere in Missouri. Still, homeowners with ash trees should be vigilant.

Signs of infestation include increased woodpecker activity (they feed on the larvae) and a yellow, thinning crown. The insects leave a D-shaped mark when they exit the bark. But because they tend to start at the top, once the exit holes get low enough to be seen, it’s probably too late to save the tree.

A new chemical is being tested and shows promise, but it’s expensive. Parasites that could kill the beetles are also being bred, but it isn’t clear when they’ll be available.

Anyone planting new trees should not plant ash. A good general rule when establishing new landscapes is that no one species should occupy more than 10 percent of the plantings. It’s just like the stock market - you want to diversify.

EAB Information Links Here are three helpful Web links to learn more about the emerald ash borer and keep abreast of late-breaking news and information.

• www.emeraldashborer.info
• www.eab.missouri.edu (under construction; available Dec. 1)
• MU Forestry Extension EAB Webinar (60 min) http://umoforestry.na3.acrobat.com/p87216095/