Plymouth Launches New Program to Combat Emerald Ash Borer

Emerald Ash Borer is spreading in Plymouth. The city forester says the invasive bug, which kills ash trees by boring tunnels through them, first appeared in the south east corner of the city in 2015. Since then it’s spread a couple of blocks beyond the first sighting.

Emerald Ash Borer is Spreading

Plymouth expects Emerald Ash Borer to spread throughout the city within the next ten years. Hoping to slow the spread, forester Paul Buck is starting a new incentive program to encourage homeowners to preemptively deal with ash trees on their land.

One option is to treat the trees by injecting them with an insecticide that targets Emerald Ash Borer as it feeds. That costs around $250 every other year.

Or homeowners can have their trees cut down, which is more expensive at first but doesn’t have a recurring bill. For residents reluctant to remove shade trees, Buck is offering to give them a free tree for every tree they remove. Homeowners can get a maximum of four trees under this program.

Buck says the third option is to do nothing, but that will mean that untreated ash trees will become infested eventually. When that happens, the city will force homeowners to remove the trees.

Waiting is Expensive

Waiting can be a lot more expensive than addressing the problem now. If the infestation is bad enough, the tree becomes too brittle to remove normally. Specialized – and costly – equipment must then be brought in to deal with it.

Buck says the time to decide what to do is now, so homeowners can budget for the future.

“Let’s get on the treatment bandwagon. And if they aren’t gonna treat ’em, let’s start thinking about when are we gonna remove those trees, because when I come it’s not gonna be fun, and it’s gonna be expensive.”

For information about signing up for the tree replacement program, or help finding contractors to remove or treat your trees, contact Paul Buck at pbuck@plymouthmn.gov.

Plymouth