Current Emerald Ash Borer Information.

[Okrafarmer]

Has it gotten to South Carolina yet?

[rusticretreater]

 



The red dots in the image are where infestations have been detected.  The Dept of Agriculture has dropped quarantines on the EAB as it has not been effective.  They are now trying parasitic wasps as well as aggressive logging.

[Walnut Beast]

It's sickening looking at all the dead ash trees in my woods from years ago that got infected and went to waste and some big ones. 

[Okrafarmer]

The red dots in the image are where infestations have been detected.  The Dept of Agriculture has dropped quarantines on the EAB as it has not been effective.  They are now trying parasitic wasps as well as aggressive logging.

Thanks. Looks like it has crept into my corner of SC. Interesting it has mostly stayed out of my two home states--SC and Maine.

[DMcCoy]

EAB showed up last week in Forest Grove OR.  NW corner of Oregon.  They cut and chipped the trees within 48 hrs and will start with the parasitic wasps soon.
After they get done killing the ash trees what's next?  There must be secondary choices.

[kantuckid]

Being a pessimist- ;)
Let's hope the wasps work better than did the Asian Ladybugs and a few other noteworthy screwups from government scientists. 
Multi flora rose, Kudzu and a few other flops come to mind. 
 My home state of KS (as did others) promoted Russian Olive which is now invasive in some places. There's more...
  

[Al_Smith]

Sitting around my fire ring on my back patio sipping a whistle pop every so often I see a stray EAB but not too often .I've saved some rather large lumber logs all cribbed above the ground  so they don't rot .Ash is not rot proof but it does last a long time before the weather gets to it .It certainly does get hard though dried out in the log after a time .I'm still cutting the wind falls for firewood and likely will be for some time to come .It's just a shame as I had 100 footers at one time .All gone now. :( 

[KJ42]

New to the forum, but I discovered an EAB bug in an Ash tree we cut down in central NC. made a chair out of the wood and was wondering if it may hatch larvae later. It is a post and rung chair from greenwood. What do you all think?

The EAB survive on the cambium (inner bark) of the tree and do not bore into the wood. This is why you see tracks when you peel the bark. They cannot subsist on a dead tree, they need healthy live bark. When they kill a tree, they move on and kill another.
It is rare to find an EAB on a dead tree. Your chair will be fine on that score, however, powder post beetles are a different story. ;D
Welcome to the forum.

Old reply but wanted to add, the EAB also feast on the foliage. Actually the foliage is 1st to be attacked, then the ba_t__ds travel down and lay their eggs in between the furrows on the bark. Eggs hatch and burrow through into the cambium layer and eat all the cambium. Then tunnel out and repeat. I hate them with a passion. Theyve created so much work for me and decimated my 21 acres, gell my whole neighborhood.

[beenthere]

KJ42
Welcome to the Forestry Forum. Would like to hear more about you and your interest in trees.

Wonder if you know how long the EAB exists while eating the cambium layer out to eventually girdle the tree when that layer is gone. I'm thinking a few years at least.

Go to your profile and fill out some of that information, much appreciated to know more when posting back.

[Okrafarmer]

For what it's worth we still have live ash trees in Greenville and Pickens Counties, South Carolina.

For now.

[KJ42]

Whats the new updated info on the EAB? My State Forester in PA told me they are just in limbo right now monitoring the EAB, whatever that means. I just treated a couple younger 6" dbh and smaller ashes with a root soak to see if I can save 1 or 2. I did find 2 Green Ashes down in my forest that have avoided the onslaught. One is 17"dbh, the other 7" dbh. Both have no signs of "D" holes and are currently fully leafing out. No signs of loose, girdling bark. I have to find an arborist to treat the big Ash ASAP.  I was very surprised to find them as they are surrounded by infested, dead Ash. I wish I could find out if the EAB is still here or have they moved on?

[beenthere]

I think, in reality, the EAB has won this battle. Sorry to say, but the EAB was a few years ahead of the tell-tale signs it left behind so the knee-jerk reactions (i.e. don't move firewood) that likely didn't have any real connection to stopping them were "too late" happening.

[SwampDonkey]

If the borer is like most, it would have exited any dry firewood before it was taken to a campground. Why no ban on green sawlogs moving? That was likely where most moved volume wise. There is ash all over creation in these parts and I guarantee more ash sawlogs or pulpwood moved than firewood because very little of it is bought or used of any significant volume for firewood. I haven't burned 1 cord in 30 years. The older folks in the family never touched it for firewood. If it wasn't maple, beech or yellow birch they would let you know what to do with it. 

[mudfarmer]

Why no ban on green sawlogs moving? That was likely where most moved volume wise.

I asked this exact question of the folks in our state that were in charge of the firewood movement restrictions when they were put in place. THe answer was "lobbying from the forest products industry." The regulators were told if they restricted movement of ash saw logs and pulp it would cripple a whole industry.

[SwampDonkey]

So basically the ship was going to be sunk anyway.

[KJ42]

Why no ban on green sawlogs moving? That was likely where most moved volume wise.

I asked this exact question of the folks in our state that were in charge of the firewood movement restrictions when they were put in place. THe answer was "lobbying from the forest products industry." The regulators were told if they restricted movement of ash saw logs and pulp it would cripple a whole industry.

So what does the industry do now that most of the Ash is dead and almost dead? It makes no sense unless they needed  to switch their processing to a different kind of wood? 

[mudfarmer]

Why no ban on green sawlogs moving? That was likely where most moved volume wise.

I asked this exact question of the folks in our state that were in charge of the firewood movement restrictions when they were put in place. THe answer was "lobbying from the forest products industry." The regulators were told if they restricted movement of ash saw logs and pulp it would cripple a whole industry.

So what does the industry do now that most of the Ash is dead and almost dead? It makes no sense unless they needed  to switch their processing to a different kind of wood?

The mills just buy it from where the Ash is still alive/hasn't been infested, like where I am. Everyone else is out of luck I guess? The mills will be eventually, too.

Not restricting movement of sawlogs allowed it to be harvested more heavily ahead of the infestation, but that harvesting may have contributed heavily to the spread itself. Life sure is difficult to navigate.