DANG !! Ash Borer struck ALL my Ash Trees

[Clarence Martinn]

I thought I was safe ! But, the Emerald Ash Borer struck ALL my Ash Trees !! The big one is over 140 years old . Got a price from the tree cutter to take the whole thing down. $1631.00 Is that reasonable ?

Can that Ash still be used for Turning ??

[Ed Aumiller]

you need to provide a location when asking for advice...
in downtown NYC that would be cheap
in Shenandoah Valley VA that would be expensive

and yes, the wood will be ok, the borer only damages near the bark

[Jim Becker]

I lost every single one on our old property to the little buggers...dozens of trees. The five I had taken down that were near the house or near the road cost $6000 to be done and that was with me cutting the big pieces up with them chipping up the rest. There are still quite a few standing dead ash on the property, but they are not in areas that would endanger people or the buildings. I have five logs to be milled still there...I need them transported as one is too large in diameter to be cut with a portable mill other than a Lucas mill and just getting one of those on-site is pretty expensive it seems. I have to get back with the guy that I"m having take care of things when I have a copious free moment to do so.

Ash turns wonderfully...it's actually really fun to turn wet/fresh, too!

[Jim Koepke]

If my memory is working, here in Washington ash trees are supposed to be cut with or without borers.

There are a lot of plants in Washington considered invasive, toxic to live stock or just plain undesirable.

Any tansy on my property will get pulled. Though when living in California it bugged me to not being able to get it to grow in my yard. When first seem up here it kind of made me feel good that it was growing until the book on "forbidden plants" arrived in the mail.

Yellow Saint Archangel is sold at some home centers (maybe not in Washington anymore) but it can take over a yard. It is hard to kill and is listed as an invasive species to be removed.

I do not like killing the St. John's Wort, but it is another we are not supposed to have growing.

My wife saw yellow iris growing in many places and wondered if it would be okay to dig some up to grow. It is illegal to grow, propagate or even transport that plant and often crews are out digging it up to remove it.

jtk

[Dan Hunkele]

In my neck of the woods they figure $1500 a day for a tree cutting crew. Lost all my ash trees 4 or 5 years ago. I have been doting on some small ash trees that have sprung up. I wonder if the borer has moved on or are these new trees at risk too? I'm hoping they have nothing to eat and have left the area.

[Bruce Volden]

In my neck of the woods they figure $1500 a day for a tree cutting crew. Lost all my ash trees 4 or 5 years ago. I have been doting on some small ash trees that have sprung up. I wonder if the borer has moved on or are these new trees at risk too? I'm hoping they have nothing to eat and have left the area.

I have the same thing going on. I still have some mature ash without bugs (maybe) and have been taking them down to burn for firewood.

Bruce

[John K Jordan]

In my neck of the woods they figure $1500 a day for a tree cutting crew. Lost all my ash trees 4 or 5 years ago. I have been doting on some small ash trees that have sprung up. I wonder if the borer has moved on or are these new trees at risk too? I'm hoping they have nothing to eat and have left the area.

I suspect unless the borer is eliminated from the country it will find the new trees eventually. You might consult with your county/area forester.

JKJ

[Ole Anderson]

No ash trees on my lot, but I sure wish that little bug would have been the Emerald Cottonwood Borer...hate those trees, got two big ones left, plus those on my neighbor's property. I have a 6" thick cookie taken from a 46 incher that we took down four years ago. The stickies are the worst, I can put up with the cotton. Love working with ash in the shop though.

[Stan Calow]

Most of the ash trees in my area are infected. The state arborist told me that once the borer is in your area, the ash trees are all goners, unless you treat them. Sadly most of the people in my neighborhood were and are ignorant about it, so nobody besides my neighbor took preventive measures. Ironically, the cities used ash trees to replace the earlier generation of bradford pears on city streets.

[John K Jordan]

Most of the ash trees in my area are infected. The state arborist told me that once the borer is in your area, the ash trees are all goners, unless you treat them. Sadly most of the people in my neighborhood were and are ignorant about it, so nobody besides my neighbor took preventive measures. Ironically, the cities used ash trees to replace the earlier generation of bradford pears on city streets.

Fortunately, they haven't found my ash trees yet. Probably since the few we have are widely spaced. I assume it's a matter of time. I'm monitoring them if/when affected I'll at least harvest the timber.

When the pine beetles killed off huge areas I thought my one little isolated stand of pines was missed since the trees were untouched for long after the bugs hit our area. Unfortunately some years ago they found them and took out about 50% of our pines. The rest seem unaffected.

JKJ

[Dave Lehnert]

I dont have first hand knowledge but I think around here if you have an infested tree the state will come and take it down and destroy it. I know there was a story on the news just this week about a homeowner only allowing the state (maybe county???) to ONLY take down the dead infested trees. They wanted to cut the uninfected ones too,
Sure would be worth a call before you drop some big $$$$$$

[Rod Sheridan]

I thought I was safe ! But, the Emerald Ash Borer struck ALL my Ash Trees !! The big one is over 140 years old . Got a price from the tree cutter to take the whole thing down. $1631.00 Is that reasonable ?

Can that Ash still be used for Turning ??

The larvae are only in the cambium layer, if that’s slabbed off to a depth of 30mm, where I live the wood is then approved for use or transport.

I paid that much to have one ash tree hoisted over my house, made flooring out of the wood.

Sorry for the loss of your trees….Rod