Village To Take On Emerald Ash Borer Through Tree Removal, Replacement

Watch out, Emerald Ash Borer—Lake Zurich is coming for you.

Trustees unanimously voted Monday night to approve a management plan that will address the potential Emerald Ash Borer infestation in village Ash trees. In March, the Illinois Department of Agriculture alerted village officials to the presence of the Emerald Ash Borer beetle in Lake Zurich.

Village Arborist Shawn Walkington and Tree Commission Chairman Scott Garrison presented the management plan to the board Monday night. Essentially, the plan calls for the inspection of all village-owned Ash trees, removal of Ash trees with more than 30 percent of crown dieback or those that show three or more specified symptoms, and the establishment of a proactive program that will result in the removal and replacement of 300 Ash trees per year for 10 years.

"This is the most difficult insect to find that I've ever encountered," Garrison said.

The Emerald Ash Borer, he said, is a tiny insect. The female beetle lays its eggs—up to 80 per inch—on the Ash tree. The larvae then bore into the tree in an "S" pattern, "so it's a wider stretch of tree that's destroyed," Garrison said. The Emerald Ash Borer has a life cycle of one to two years. Once a tree has been totally infested and destroyed, the insects move on.

Garrison added that the exit hole for an adult Emerald Ash Borer is just one-eighth of an inch in diameter.

The key to finding an infected tree, Garrison said, is to look for the tell-tale signs. These infestation symptoms can include: crown dieback, "S"-shaped larval galleries under the bark, "D"-shaped exit holes in the bark, woodpecker damage to the outer bark, the presence of adult beetles and bark splits.

Of the village's 8,000 parkway trees, about 3,000 of those are Ash trees, Walkington said.

The plan is to remove and replace 300 Ash trees per year for 10 years at a cost of $100,000 per year for each of the 10 years.

Garrison addressed potential chemical options, including trunk injection or pouring chemicals around the base of an infested tree. He noted, however, that with 3,000 village-owned parkway trees, such chemical options would be very expensive and would need to be done every year.

The plan to remove and replace trees, Garrison said, is "a very viable option."

Walkington said the new trees that replace the Ash trees will not be of the same species. Instead, trees such as Maples and Oaks will be used.

The next step in this process, said Village Administrator Bob Vitas, must be to develop an operational plan that specifies how the management plan will be carried out.

"That's what's missing here," Vitas said.

Per the management plan, if a resident suspects that an Ash tree on his or her property has been infested, he or she should call the Lake Zurich Public Works Department's Forestry Unit at (847) 540-1696.