Protecting Ash Trees From Invasive Beetles | News

Buffalo, NY - Thousands of ash trees along Delaware Avenue are under threat of being infested by colonies of emerald ash beetles.

This week is Emerald Ash Borer Awareness week, and there are about 250-ash trees on Delaware Avenue between Gates Circle and Summer Street.

Shane Daley, Tree Care Supervisor for the Buffalo Olmstead Parks Conservancy told 2 On Your Side, "Basically 10-percent of all New York's trees are ash trees."

Re-tree Western New York volunteers started tying "Help Save New York's Ash Tree" tags on as many ash trees they can find. Paul Maurer, the Chairman of the organization the threat of these insects is unavoidable.

"When they see a yellow tag and they see a purple ribbon, that's a tree that's likely to come down in a few years," said Maurer.

Emerald ash borers lay their eggs on the bark of ash trees. As the larvae hatches it bores through the bark of the tree leaving behind a distinctive "D" shape hole. Once inside they begin to feed off the tree causing it to die.

These bugs are originally from Asia and have the potential to wipe out every ash tree here in Western New York. Besides raising awareness, Daley said a lot is being done to save these trees before they get infested.

"In the Olmstead Conservancy and the City of Buffalo we're revamping our detection methods. We're out there trimming trees during the flight season of the emerald ash borer. We're doing, taking branch samples and dissecting the branches and seeing if there's larvae in the branches," said Daley.

Treating an infected tree is quite expensive. It costs about $120 to treat a tree that's 6-inches in diameter.

To learn more on how to protect your ash trees from the emerald ash borer, click here.