Emerald Ash Borer Management

Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is a small, metallic green, invasive wood-boring beetle that attacks and kills all ash trees, native or planted, in NE Iowa, SE Minnesota, and SW Wisconsin. The adult insect lives on the outside of ash trees, feeding on the leaves during the summer months, then laying its eggs under the bark in early fall. The larvae over-winter in the cambium layer of the trees, feeding on the carbohydrates the tree stores for energy. The trees are killed by the tunneling activity of the larvae under the tree’s bark, which disrupts the vascular flow and girdles the tree.

Insecticide treatment is the only option to preserve the ash tree species from this aggressive insect. EAB management is not a one-size-fits-all process. Let the ISA Certified Arborists at Stevenson Tree Care assist you with determining the best management processes for your ash trees.

If your Ash tree is important to you, healthy enough for treatment, and does not have visible symptoms of infestation, protecting it from Emerald Ash Borer is both affordable and effective. Properly applied systemic insecticides provide an effective and consistent way to protect your trees from EAB. We offer EAB management options for residents in Decorah, IA, La Crosse, WI, and surrounding communities.

At Stevenson Tree Care, we use a 4 step approach to managing Emerald Ash Borer:

1. Tree health evaluation – Is the tree structurally sound and healthy enough to treat?
2. Tree benefit evaluation – Do the benefits associated with the tree outweigh the cost of treatment?
3. EAB symptom evaluation – Inspect the tree for symptoms of EAB. Currently infested trees require a higher dose of insecticide to successfully save the tree.
4. Determine the best treatment option – Using the information gained in the tree evaluation we will determine the best treatment option for your tree and landscape.