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Well, all of the ash trees are dead in the area and I have a sapling coming up. My thought is that I could protect the sapling for a few years as the local infestation runs its course (assuming it does). The sapling doesn't have any bark so as near as I can tell from googling stuff, I don't believe there are any larvae in it, yet. I did observe D-shaped holes in the leafs last summer so I know the EAB was feasting a bit on it. Anyway, I know it is kind-of crazy but I am going to attempt to keep it alive for as long as possible. I am thinking borax/diatomaceous earth on the leafs might cause them to die off before they can lay eggs. Any other ideas?

Treating the leaves will probably not be effective, as most of the borers life is spent in the cambrian of the trunks. In addition, once Diatomaceous earth gets wet, it is useless, so spraying it on the tree leaves would be useless.

Evidently, some success has been achieved by soaking the ground under the tree with insecticide has some benefits (if you like using poisons on the environment). Evidently, the trees soak up the poisons into the trunk killing the larva when they eat the cambrian. (So much for the lie that round up does not get into your food).

Personally, I would not use pesticides. Why develop another super resistant bug.

You might try using tangle trap during the flight stage of their life cycle. I have found it to be pretty effective for fruit trees.

I have not researched it yet, but apparently their are some predators that are useful, but they are not native.

Sorry I am not much help with your problem.

Cliff

Thanks Cliff! I don't like the idea of insecticide on the ground either. Maybe an application to the trunk...

I heard from an entomologist that the deep freeze this past winter in certain areas of the east coast may have killed off a signifigant percentage of the ash borers. Did your area experience an extended deep freeze this past winter?

It came down to Indiana from Michigan so I doubt if our winter affected it all. We have 100% ash tree death now so I would expect the populations to fall off quickly.

Looks like this town in Illinois tried a newly developed treatment with very poor results. The treatment may work but they think the contractor may not have had the right technique to use it.

https://www.whig.com/20190407/quincy-tree-commission-concerned-over-emerald-ash-borer-treatments#

Scott Shirmer, a plant and pesticide specialist with the Illinois Department of Agriculture, said the treatments, while experimental, are designed for an applicator to drill into the trunk of a tree and pump the pesticide into it.

Mine are dying and I'm cutting them for firewood as fast as I can. Anybody want a 100 cord of firewood?

vtsnowedin wrote:Mine are dying and I'm cutting them for firewood as fast as I can. Anybody want a 100 cord of firewood?

I read somewhere that firewood sales are a big contributor to it's spread. If you think about it for a while, it makes sense.

So, maybe better to burn your own firewood... Hmmm, maybe a rocket stove greenhouse, or a big smoker.

careinke wrote:

vtsnowedin wrote:Mine are dying and I'm cutting them for firewood as fast as I can. Anybody want a 100 cord of firewood?

I read somewhere that firewood sales are a big contributor to it's spread. If you think about it for a while, it makes sense.

So, maybe better to burn your own firewood... Hmmm, maybe a rocket stove greenhouse, or a big smoker.

Yes to all of that concern. I would and will not ship any of my contaminated fire wood out of the contaminated area. but unfortunately the the adult borer can fly dozens of miles in search of new ash trees which lets it leapfrog any quarantine lines put in place.
And no we did not have even one night below -40f this winter which might have knocked them back a bit.

This whole discussion seems reminiscent of the spruce beetle and pine infestation problems we have had in Western Canada for a few years. The little B##%@%ds are able to live through anything unless it is sustained minus 20 C for quite awhile. The damage to the mountain areas in Banff and other National Parks, as well as many of the Provincial parks, has been very large over the last few years. We have a number of pine/fir trees on our lot and the last two years I've had an arborist come out and deal with it which includes spraying things like Mughos and drilling and injecting various "tree antibiotics" into the big spruces and pines. After two years it seems to have had an impact. The Colorado spruces which looked like they were ready to give up the ghost are all blue and healthy looking now, the needles on the pines seem to be free of mites. I think this is a natural cycle that happens and allows new growth to take place. In the Mountain areas the infestation seems to have stopped although it took out large areas. I don't think Mother Nature likes climax growth forests. Be it by fire or bugs the forest probably wants to level itself out over time. But I'm not a biologist, just an observer.

Not the cheapest test but if you check for heavy metal contamination in the ground and comes up with high levels then there's nothing to be done besides a pre-funeral prayer for your trees.