Communities are encouraged
to become a member or Tree City USA
to assist in managing EAB. 
For more on Tree City USA,
go to: http://dnr.state.il.us/conservation/forestry/urban/treecity.htm
 
ATTENTION:  ALL COMMUNITIES WITHIN A 15-mile radius of currently known-EAB-infested areas:  If EAB has been confirmed in an area within 10 to 12 miles of your location you need to start managing your ash tree or ash inventory as if you already have EAB. EAB is almost impossible to detect, especially visually, until it already has been present in your ash tree or ash tree inventory for three to five years. EAB is an extremely insidious pest, females lay 60 to 90 eggs per year, and their population builds at a minimum of 10 fold per year. Please refer to this website for management or treatment options. Do not move ash material beyond the EAB regulated area.  

Sample Management Plans

Link to Don't Move Firewood website

Newsletters * updated 09-18-08

Reforestation - Increase Tree Diversity in your Urban Landscape *updatd 11-29-07
NEW Compliance Agreement Document * updated 09-04-07
Oak Park confirms EAB *7-29-08
Bloomington IL - McLean County finds EAB * 7-18-08
McHenry County (Algonquin) Infested 7-1-08
City of Chicago Announces EAB Infestation 6-19-08
Will County infested 06-12-08

If you suspect your tree has EAB, please contact your city forester or local arborist, or take some digital photos of the tree and close-ups of the symptoms it is expressing and email those with contact info to:  agr.eab@illinois.gov

REMOVE INFESTED ASH IMMEDIATELY (Be sure to cover during transport)
Having observed the documented spread of Emerald Ash Borer across Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Ontario (Canada), and now other states, it is very alarming. Looking at what has been found through survey efforts here in Illinois should lead one to believe we are in for a long significant battle against this pest. Current survey data is revealing that we are about to enter a period of time where EAB is on the verge of rapid spread, especially in areas where it has already been confirmed. This will be a significant urban management problem for every municipality with large ash inventories.Treatment It is strongly recommended that known EAB infested ash be removed immediately. Leaving infested ash to stand will allow for the emergence of hundreds, or possibly thousands of adult EAB. These adults would then lay eggs and infest other nearby ash trees, which will then greatly impact communities' management strategies and budgets. EAB is an extremely insidious pest which multiplies at an estimated minimum of ten fold per year. 
 
When removing infested ash during the adult flight season, please try to have all ash debris processed to a deregulated state on site if at all possible. This would be for example chipping of all debris to less than one inch in two dimensions. (Many chippers, if well maintained, chip to less than one inch in two dimensions.) During flight season one must cover all unprocessed material that is removed from the site of the ash tree removal with a tightly bound tarp or in an enclosed container. This material can not be removed from the regulated area and should be processed to a deregulated state immediately upon destination arrival. The destination site must be a company working in compliance with the Illinois Department of Agriculture.  To access an Emerald Ash Borer Compliance Agreement click here.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture certainly supports a tree owner’s right to determine for themselves whether a pesticide treatment is appropriate in their specific circumstance.  Tree owners are encouraged to thoroughly research the various treatment options currently available and carefully weigh the costs associated with the required repeated treatments.  Please be advised, however, that treatment of an ash tree will not guarantee that a specific tree might eventually be required to be removed.  Under the provisions of the state’s Insect Pest and Plant Disease Act as well as the Nuisance Declaration issued July 19, 2006, the state has the authority to order the removal of any tree infested with the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) regardless of whether it has been previously treated with a pesticide or not.  Also please note that the state has not exercised that authority to date as all EAB-related tree removals conducted so far have been done on a voluntary basis.  

 

     Emerald Ash Borer is here in Illinois

                                                                 

(^ Actual size)

(< Exaggerated size)

Don't be confused.  While IDA may show you pictures of the Emerald Ash Borer that look like this on the left, we are simply trying to give you an idea of what the bug looks like up-close, but, it may seem that EAB is much bigger than it actually is.  This same picture to the right is the bug's actual size. It is very small and no bigger than a penny.      


CAUTION: Ash trees in Illinois are being devasted by an invasive pest, the Emerald Ash Borer. It can hitchhike on travelling firewood unbeknownst to the carrier. One way you can help is by not moving firewood - buy it at your destination.

On June 9, 2006, two ash trees in The WINDINGS subdivision, near Lilly Lake in Kane County Illinois were positively identified as being infested with the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB).

The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), is identified as a causative agent in ash tree mortality and decline. No bigger than a penny, this green menace has wreacked havoc on millions of ash trees in the Midwest and if not controlled could potentially wipe out the ash tree species in North America.

The adult beetles nibble on ash foliage but cause little damage. The larvae (the immature stage) feed on the inner bark of ash trees, disrupting the tree's ability to transport water and nutrients. The Emerald ash borer probably arrived in the United States on solid wood packing material carried in cargo ships or airplanes originating in its native Asia.

EAB Facts:

Native to Asia, the Emerald Ash Borer is an exotic beetle that was unknown in North America until June 2002 when it was discovered as the cause for the decline of many ash trees in southeast Michigan and neighboring Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It has since been found in Indiana, Ohio, Maryland and in June 2006, we discovered that it had taken up residence in Illinois.