Tree specialists gear up for ash borer calls

WATERLOO | The local invasion of the emerald ash borer will have local tree services busy in short order.

Way busy, said Brad Thomas, owner of Twin City Tree Service in Waterloo. I just took a call. They wanted 20 ash trees treated.

It wont be cheap. Owners of some tree services estimate treatment costs at around $100 per tree. Tree removal can cost $500 and up, depending on where it is or the labor involved in taking it down.

And, ultimately, theres no cure to this pest -- a small beetle that kills all species of ash trees.

EAB came from Asia and was discovered in the U.S. first in Michigan. Since then, it has made its way to Iowa -- often carried in firewood. Findings have been confirmed in Waterloo, which launched a massive tree-removal operation last week. Other counties, besides Black Hawk, that have confirmed infestations are Allamakee, Bremer, Cedar, Des Moines, Jefferson, Union and Wapello.

All 99 counties in Iowa have been quarantined by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship to slow movement of this destructive pest, which, without human help, can move an estimated 2 to 3 miles per year, said Bill Arndorfer, regional extension education director with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

The emerald ash bore is a big deal, Arndorfer said, armed with an array of EAB-related literature, at the recent Hawkeye Farm Show at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.

The pest cannot be eradicated, so its in Iowa to stay, Arndorfer said.

A lot of insects that will pick on a tree will pick on the ones that are already in decline; this insect attacks them all, so ultimately, whats going to happen is, were going to lose all our ash trees, he said. Will it all happen tomorrow? No. But its coming, and we need to make people aware of the threat and help them decide what to do.

There are options, depending on how advanced an EAB infestation is, Arndorfer said.

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Tree specialists gear up for ash borer calls