Emerald Ash Borer?

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Uper

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Feb 5, 2010
239
Eastern UP, MI
The purple trap got one!
 

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I didn't realize they were that large. No wonder they kill trees.
 
lol too cute!
 
So that is what is making all those holes in my trees. Maybe I need some purple traps too.
 
Nice pic. Do they have EAB in the EUP? Not around here yet, but it's closing in.
 
A couple of isolated sightings, last I heard. But clearly it's inevitable.
 
Now I understand why they are so hard to get rid of
 
Howdy Uper

My Dad Brother and I have a 120 acres in Pickford. The background in you picture looks like the Soo. I do not have any purple traps but it looks like it could get expensive. I just borrow my niece and nephew's. I was surprised to find five ash trees on out property alive and doing well. We mostly have soft woods cedar pine and spruce with Poplar and White Birch for hard woods. Although I did just find some maples in the last year.

I was suprised how much frost was in the ground under the snow. I thought the snow on the ground would keep the frost out and protect the roots. I took this picture on 3/1/2010. Obliviously there was not enough snow on the ground to keep the frost out of the ground in Michigan's Eastern UP.

Thats a 20oz pop bottle hung from the tree roots above the loader bucket. I had pushed the brush and snow off the top earlier in the day. And cut the trees down as they were froze into the ground and my JD 450 dozer could not push them over. Thats how much frost was in the ground! The roots are maple, white birch, balsam and spruce. I also thought it was neat how deep the fine roots went. When you push a tree over or dig it out you can never tell. But as I dug under them the gravel fell out with out damaging them much.


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Billy
 
The populations of ash borer are very low currently in the UP. Moran has the highest that we know of. There were some adults found around Brimley last year. The State park in St. Ignace has a small amount and it was found along the Delta/Schoolcraft County lines. Also there were some found in a cemetary in Laurium up in the Keweenaw. You shouldn't see any around the Pickford area for many years to come. . .unless someone moves it in with firewood or nusery stock.
Yes the frost line can go pretty low around here. It was down around 60 inches deep two years ago in St. Ignace, which is along the water of the Straits and has that moderating effect on the temperatures well into the fall/winter. Inland I would imagine the level is deeper.

Wisconsin has 11 quarantined counties for the ash borer. That only means that it has been found in those counties. The populations may be very low, but with no control efforts, will continue to grow and eventually kill the ash trees. Not a great scenario, I know. We're likely destined to have to live with it. But there is always the possibility that a magic bullet will be discovered in the future. There are three predator wasps being reared as biological control, but they would only lower the populations to a sustainable level to support themselves. Maybe that would be enough for some trees to survive. Let's hope so!
 
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