Ash Borer

[Beer Belly]

I was splitting some Ash to put in a stack that I'm prepping for a buddy ( he asked, and what are buddies for). Some of the rounds have Ash Borer in them....at least I think that's what it is, looks somewhat like a Yellow jacket Bee, but no wings, and back legs like a Cricket....anyhow, will these go away once it gets cold (keep them in the stack), or should I just throw these in the burn barrel pile ??

 

[dmmoss51]

Whatever you do... don't transport them. That is how these things spread. If you have any ash around lookout because they probably are now infected. I know here in Michigan they have a big public service campaign not to move wood.

 

[Beer Belly]

They won't go any further than 2 blocks away (buddies house), or 10 feet to the burn barrel.

 

[Soundchasm]

I Googled Emerald Ash Borer images, and they look like small grasshoppers (smaller than a penny), but some did seem to have a striped abdomen. I need to read up on their life cycle. No idea of when they are eggs, larvae or adults. If ash is their only diet, I wouldn't see a reason to treat the splits any differently. They've already murdered thousands of big, beautiful trees here.

Peel some of the bark away and see if that telltale meandering trail is there.

My question would be if we can plant ash trees again when the EAB dies out because there are no more ash trees... Just awful.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I've been cutting white ash for over 10 years now and have yet to see one of the critters.

 

[Beer Belly]

I Googled Emerald Ash Borer images, and they look like small grasshoppers (smaller than a penny), but some did seem to have a striped abdomen. I need to read up on their life cycle. No idea of when they are eggs, larvae or adults. If ash is their only diet, I wouldn't see a reason to treat the splits any differently. They've already murdered thousands of big, beautiful trees here.

Peel some of the bark away and see if that telltale meandering trail is there.

My question would be if we can plant ash trees again when the EAB dies out because there are no more ash trees... Just awful.

Yup, there are trails.....just don't know if I should bother with putting the splits in the stack, or burn barrel ??....they are physically in the splits

 

[Boiler74]

My understanding is that they like live trees. Once dead they move on. That's why the EAB is spreading, because they have to keep moving to find new, live trees.

 

[Jags]

That will make fine fuel. No reason to cremate it in the barrel. At this point go from the cold to stove and there will be no problem. And if it is all from a local source you are not introducing anything "new" to the area.

 

[My Oslo heats my home]

I agree and would do the same, its fuel, burn it. As jags said, keep them at bay outside in the cold but when the splits that are suspect do come inside, right into the stove with them.

 

[Waulie]

Like Dennis, I've cut tons of ash and haven't seen one either. You say they're "in the splits". If that's the case, I don't think it's the EAB. They don't enter the wood, they just eat the layer right below the bark.

 

[curtis]

I've seen quite a few this summer. They are emerald green color and are not very big.

 

[Paulywalnut]

I've only seen the damage not the borer' I don't think we have been hit here as hard as some of you guys. I do see the purple traps in the trees though.
I would keep the wood to burn. I doubt they can get anywhere now with the cold weather coming on.

 

[Gunny]

Yes, the bore holes will be throughout the splits. The larvae bore into the tree, after they hatch on the bark, and feed cutting off nutrients from the top of the tree. Adults look like small grasshoppers with black or sometimes red eyes (when just hatched). The developed adults then chew their way out of the tree to move on to others or feed on the leaves in the canopy of the infected tree. They have decimated the Michigan Ash population. Adults cannot fly during winter and the cold does not kill the larvae. Burn them in the wood as the larvae cannot crawl around in the cold. Unfortunately you most likely can transport two blocks away as any tree's that close are either treated or already have the bore.

 

[Gunny]

Just a note: Treated tree's have to be treated every two years and the treatment does not kill them, it just keeps them off that tree. It is said they are one of the hardest pests to kill that experts have ever seen. Stats have also proven that 95% of Ash tree's in SW Michigan are either infected or dead due to this monster. BURN THEM!