Emerald Ash Borer

[sharp-shod]

Hey,

what have you guys out in the midwest seen as far as the destruction caused by the EAB ?  the DEC here in NY says that all species of ash are doomed. is it really that bad - no ash left alive at all ?

what measures were taken to try to fight the spread of the borer ?

thanks

[Autocar]

Doomed thats the best way to tell you about ash here in Ohio. It is all around me now its just a matter of time.

[beenthere]

Measures appear to be to shut (or try) the small barn door (limit firewood movement) after the horse ran out. But leave the big doors open (logs and pulp wood movement) for the horses to run out anytime.
Sorry to be so pessemistic, but the focus (IMO) has been to put on a show that "something" is being done. When in fact, what is done is only after the EAB has struck, admitting that it probably was there for 4-5 years before it was noticable in dead trees.  Put out a quarantine just for that county where dead trees were found with the EAB.
And no way will the Feds or local Gov'ts put the limits on the larger industry that has a stake in all this.
Just my opinion, and could be debated.

[chevytaHOE5674]

Trouble with quarantines is that even the best one that is followed 100% will only slow the spread. The little buggers can FLY...  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D

[ahlkey]

The only thing that I heard was from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.  The following is the information:   " MDA released the state's first release of stingless wasps as a biological control in an effort to slow the spread of emerald ash borer (EAB) in Minnesota. The release took place in the Upper Mississippi River Fish and Wildlife Area, in Houston County.  This biocontrol, is a pest control strategy that pairs an invasive pest species with natural enemies that restrict the pest population in its native range. MDA released two species of tiny, stingless wasps that had been approved for EAB biocontrol by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). MDA and partners including APHIS, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, released the stingless wasps after extensive testing confirmed the wasps will not harm people, other animals or the environment.
The goal of the wasp release is to introduce a natural control that mitigates damage and moves with EAB as it spreads. The wasps may be used in other infested areas in the future".

It would be nice if this helped and of course did not result in something like the Asian Beetle problem. 

[Okrafarmer]

Yeah, no kidding. I used to be given little packets of stingless wasp eggs to throw around the farm for the little wasps to help control flies. So how do we know if it works? I never could see any decrease in the fly population. Could we try billions of ladybugs?

[Ed]

Total devastation, there will be none left. Accept reality.
This is nothing like Dutch Elm disease, we still have Elm, they grow and die, some small, some large.
EAB is totally different, its a more efficient killer, 100% effective, 100% destruction. The tree dies a slow death, starving for nutrients, it sprouts suckers from the trunk and the base, it tries to grow leaves so it can live, to no avail. The borrers will travel from the ground to the top, 100% disruption of the cambium layer, from the time the first larva hatches, the tree is doomed.

Ed

[tjdub]

The only thing that I heard was from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.  The following is the information:   " MDA released the state's first release of stingless wasps as a biological control in an effort to slow the spread of emerald ash borer (EAB) in Minnesota. The release took place in the Upper Mississippi River Fish and Wildlife Area, in Houston County.  This biocontrol, is a pest control strategy that pairs an invasive pest species with natural enemies that restrict the pest population in its native range. MDA released two species of tiny, stingless wasps that had been approved for EAB biocontrol by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). MDA and partners including APHIS, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, released the stingless wasps after extensive testing confirmed the wasps will not harm people, other animals or the environment.
The goal of the wasp release is to introduce a natural control that mitigates damage and moves with EAB as it spreads. The wasps may be used in other infested areas in the future".

It would be nice if this helped and of course did not result in something like the Asian Beetle problem.  

The MN DNR has had some great success introducing species to counteract invasives.  They released two seperate insects to battle Purple Loosetrife with some very good success.  Hopefully this release isn't backed up by over-confidence.


I live very close to ground zero for this wasp release, so I'll let you know how it turns out just as soon asALL HAIL TO THE PARASITIC BRAIN WASPS!

[RynSmith]

  :D  :D  :D  :D  :D

[tjdub]

Yeah, no kidding. I used to be given little packets of stingless wasp eggs to throw around the farm for the little wasps to help control flies. So how do we know if it works? I never could see any decrease in the fly population. Could we try billions of ladybugs?

I think the reason they chose this spot for the release of the wasp is that EAB just entered the area this year.   They've been purple-trapping the heck of the area for years waiting for it to hop over the Mississippi from Wisconsin and just caught their first one this summer.  They will know if these wasps work by studying how quickly the Ash trees are killed here in the next few years.  Probably they  have a good baseline for measurement by studying the invasion in other areas.

[JDeere]

Hats off to MN DNR for being so pro-active. Sure hope it works.

[Okrafarmer]

Hats off to MN DNR for being so pro-active. Sure hope it works.

And keep us posted. We don't have many ash right here but we cut one this spring. A nice big white ash, I think, though I don't know my individual species real well.

[barbender]

I agree with beenthere, and I get alittle sick of all the regs that get dumped on the "little man" when these things happen. We can get large fines here in MN now for not having 100% of our bilge and livewell water drained out of our boats before leaving a lake access because of invasives. Well, why don't we make the big ships that bring the garbage here do the same thing? Why do we have to allow imports of nursery stock and other plants, where these diseases have came from? $$$ >:(

[Okrafarmer]

I agree with beenthere, and I get alittle sick of all the regs that get dumped on the "little man" when these things happen. We can get large fines here in MN now for not having 100% of our bilge and livewell water drained out of our boats before leaving a lake access because of invasives. Well, why don't we make the big ships that bring the garbage here do the same thing? Why do we have to allow imports of nursery stock and other plants, where these diseases have came from? $$$ >:(

Yep X2

[tjdub]

I agree with beenthere, and I get alittle sick of all the regs that get dumped on the "little man" when these things happen. We can get large fines here in MN now for not having 100% of our bilge and livewell water drained out of our boats before leaving a lake access because of invasives. Well, why don't we make the big ships that bring the garbage here do the same thing? Why do we have to allow imports of nursery stock and other plants, where these diseases have came from? $$$ >:(

I agree, but the Minnesota Dept. of Agriculture will come and inspect your firewood for free and give you per-load permits to transport.   My dad runs a firewood business for retirement income and most of his sales are out of the county, so the firewood quarantine ban hit him hard.  I do have to give the state govt. some credit for trying to help the little guy, though.  On the other hand, they only give him the transport permits for bark-less firewood even though he doesn't even sell Ash, which seems pretty stupid considering that you can move Ash logs out of the county without any inspection (I think).

[SwampDonkey]

It's like I told them on the radio (via email) quarantine is just on paper. No one to enforce anything to do roadside checks. What I got for a response was a prepared written statement, not allowed to give an intelligent answer off the top of their heads. It was the same response to every question being fielded. My friend who works as an entomologist with Forestry Canada said that the Food Inspection Agency weren't a very effective bunch to deal with it. Besides that, it's almost impossible to control something that flies and top of that to respond after it's found. A day late and a dime short.

In my neck of the woods ash is everywhere in woodlots near the settlements. It's going to happen eventually.  :-\ Most hardwood pulp being moved here however is maple and birch. We do have Garant that takes tool handle logs. The rest of those tree tops would be firewood.

[SwampDonkey]

It's probably "all firewood species" because both the public and someone not well trained to ID wood by bark and grain would miss a load of ash. Also, factor in a load of wood on the move and not just simply sitting on the side of the road to look at.

Our Marketing boards here have taken on duties that the Customs and Immigration guys would have no clue as to species or where it came from under "Load Slip" legislation. They don't have the training required nor the staff to go out to woodlots to do any ground work. To most of them "it's just a stick of wood".  ;)  My brother grew up on the farm here and he knows maple and birch, but throw a stick of ash, ironwood or elm in the wood pile and it's all "maple". :

[Okrafarmer]

Glad we don't have to deal with it down here-- this is a very species-rich area, and it wouldn't surprise me if we have well over 100 species of native trees here, not to mention the exotics that people plant in their yards. I can identify a lot of them-- more all the time-- but there are always some that stump me.

[John Mc]

Is there a map that is kept updated for confirmed presence of EAB in the US and Canada? (and while we're at it, how about Asian Longhorned Beetle, Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, etc.) We don't have a big problem with any of them in Vermont yet, but it's only a matter of time. HWA has shown up in our southern counties.

I've heard EAB is just across the St Lawrence in Quebec.

As far as I know, no ALB yet, but it's only a matter of time -- It's been present for so long in Central Massachusetts (and for a number of years before anyone identified the threat), that I'm sure it's been transported up to here at some point. What else is someone in Worcester going to do with that dead maple in their back yard? Hey, I know! Let's bring it with us for firewood next time we go up to the camp/summer place in Vermont! (Not intending to dis Worcester. My mom grew up there. It's a great place, just has the dubious distinction of being the epicenter of the ALB infestation.)

Oops.. almost forgot: Beech bark disease, which is already here. (And Dutch Elm Disease and the Chestnut Blight, which have already run their course)

I shudder to think what we'll have left when they all finally get here in force. What is going to happen to our struggling Forest products industry? Vermont Maple syrup? Leef-peeper tourism industry (believe it or not, a major factor in Vermont's economy).

[SwampDonkey]

Hemlock Woolly Adelgid won't be up here in NB, too cold. Asian spruce Longhorn is in NS, but not in NB yet. There is a very narrow land bridge across the Tantramar Marsh from NS into NB. So far so good. No softwood flow between provinces, which is on a completely volunteer basis, "self imposed" by big industry. Nothing holding back a woodlot owner, only conscience.

[Jamie_C]

Hemlock Woolly Adelgid won't be up here in NB, too cold. Asian spruce Longhorn is in NS, but not in NB yet. There is a very narrow land bridge across the Tantramar Marsh from NS into NB. So far so good. No softwood flow between provinces, which is on a completely volunteer basis, "self imposed" by big industry. Nothing holding back a woodlot owner, only conscience.

Swamp ... Bowater here in NS is buying logs from southern NB, NewPage is buying studs and pulp from NB and the way JDI has gone here in NS i imagine they will soon be trucking wood in from NB as well. Not much wood heading from NS to NB though that i am aware of so that should help keep you guys safe for the time being but i am quite sure you guys will see it there before too much longer.

The quarantine area here was a joke ...

[SwampDonkey]

Just as my buddy said about the quarantine for ash borer, no one keeping fire at the house.  : I did read that they had spot inspections in camp grounds in Ontario, something like 340 spot inspections I think and a handful of non compliance. That volume is small potatoes compared to the firewood business overall.

There are other life priorities and trees take a back seat I'm afraid.

[Okrafarmer]

I'm wondering, if a decrease in the availability of ash will increase the demand for hickory and other strong hardwoods for tool handles, ball bats, etc.

[Warren]

It's like I told them on the radio (via email) quarantine is just on paper. No one to enforce anything to do roadside checks.

Swamp,   I attended an EAB meeting in August.  Posted by a combination of USDA Aphis, KY Div Forestry, UK Ag Extension group.  Regarding the lack of enforcement, the USDA rep (I think) had a picture of a pickup truck with visible Ohio state licences plates, loaded across the bed with fire wood, right off of I-75 in Lexington, kY in a gas station.  He claimed that even with clear picture, with visible license plate #, he could not find anyone interested to pursue the guy for violating the EAB firewood ban...

If the USDA can not get someone to enforce the ban... why bother ?

Is there a map that is kept updated for confirmed presence of EAB in the US and Canada?

John,    At the EAB meeting above, the APHIS rep showed a map that tracked the progression of observed EAB from Michigan down into Kentucky.   According to that map, the progression seems to follow interstates, especially popular camp grounds, state parks, etc.  I think they had a small numebr to hand out.   I didn't bother taking one since my county is already under quarantine...

-w-

[Okrafarmer]

Also: ash is not very common in our area though we do have a little. Does anybody know the extent of this firewood ban-- what states-- what areas-- what exactly does the firewood ban prohibit? You can't haul ANY firewood, even if it is not ash? And how far?