Ash Trees Dying

[HawkinsHollow]

I have a handful of ash trees on my property. I noticed over the last couple of weeks they don't look so good. I wonder if I have Emerald Ash Borers killing them off. This has just happened over the last year I'd say. I had a nice sized Ash that is looking a little pitiful and a few smaller ones that appear to be completely dead. I just did a little research on how to tell and will try to probe deeper to see if that could be a cause. My question is: what next? Should I just use the wood for firewood? Is it best to just pile them up and burn them all at once? My property is in extreme North Georgia, I didn't think this was going to be an issue this far south so soon.

 

[kenmbz]

I have lost dozens of Ash trees from small 20' to ones over 100' tall.
If it's EAB (most likely) then you will see holes in the bark shaped like a D.
Be careful, as they die they get brittle and become very dangerous.

I use the dead ones for firewood and some simple slab milling.
Makes good firewood (ash!)

These bugs are everywhere, sorry you have to deal with them too. By the time you see them dying they are probably in most of the trees. I tried to treat one, but it was too late.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Definitely EAB, pealed the bark back and it had the telltale sign of the little burrow paths. Sad! Guess its time for some big bonfires!

 

[Hay Dude]

All the ash trees in MY area are dead. EAB got them all. Tree guys got rich off it.

 

[japody]

EAB got all of my ash trees. Friends got a bunch for firewood. Enough for several families.

 

[MoKelly]

Because of the EAB, we aren’t supposed to transport firewood outside the county. You are supposed to get your wood within the county you live.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

EAB got all of my ash trees. Friends got a bunch for firewood. Enough for several families.

Yeah, I will have plenty of firewood from these trees for a while. I have a couple bigger ones I might try to get to my friends sawmill.

 

[5030]

Don't know if you know where the EAB came from, but it came in here in Michigan in a ocean going ship that unloaded pallets of stuff and the pallets had the EAB in the wood.

We had 2 large ash trees in the backyard and right from the get go, I treated them with Bayer Tree and Shrub treatment (recommended to us by the county extension agent) and we managed to keep them alive when all of the other Ash trees in the county were dead, in fact the county extension agent was watching ours but eventually they succumbed to the borer and we had them cut down and yes, I roasted them in a couple big fires. Too bad really as they are nice trees or should I say, were.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Because of the EAB, we aren’t supposed to transport firewood outside the county. You are supposed to get your wood within the county you live.

Yeah, I am pretty sensitive about transporting firewood. Looks like I will have to be even more so now.

 

[dstig1]

Looks like you have your answer. One of the big telltales I see around here as they have migrated into the region is the sprouting of new branches down low on the tree. If you see ash trees with new small branches coming out of the trunk below the main crown, odds are that is EAB. Because the leaves above are cutoff from the roots by the EAB tunneling, they start to grow new branches just below the infestation sites. It can be near ground level or anywhere above on the main stem.

I love using ash to make drawer cases as it works well and it sturdy and is reasonably cheap...well used to be. I'm guessing that won't be true anymore based on my last batch a year ago... $$$ Great firewood too, just keep it very local to help slow the spread a bit.