Natick Cuts Down Trees Infested By Ash Borer

NATICK, MA — It was a sad day for the Natick Common on Monday morning as public works crews began cutting down ash trees infested with the emerald ash borer — the first confirmed appearance of the beetle in town, according to state records.

The trees being removed on Monday are along the Park Street side of the common. The town discovered the infestation of at least nine trees in the spring, according to WHDH. The town plans to replant the trees in spring 2021.

The invasive ash borer arrived in the U.S. in 2002 and was first seen in Michigan. The insect lays eggs inside ash trees, and the larvae emerge to feed under the bark. This disrupts the tree's ability to transport nutrients, and leads to instability, according to the Arbor Day Foundation.

The emerald ash borer sighting in Massachusetts was first confirmed in 2012 in Dalton near Pittsfield. The insect has since spread all the way across the state as far east as Plymouth County. Until this spring, the ash borer had only been confirmed in Wellesley, Dover, and Needham — and as far south in Middlesex County as Hopkinton and Holliston.

Ash borers are a death sentence for any tree they infest. To prevent the borer from spreading, the state Department of Conservation and Recreation recommends not moving any type of ash wood.

"EAB continues to spread across Massachusetts through human assisted movement" DCR's ash borer page says. "EAB can be moved in any ash product — ash fire wood, ash nursery stock, or any live ash cuttings. Everyone can do their part protecting our ash resources by avoiding moving ash materials."