Arborists and tree care professionals in Pennsylvania and neighboring states have no tolerance for the rapidly spreading epidemic of invasive pests that are infesting trees in their regions. Together, they are gearing up to fight against the emerald ash borer (EAB) and the hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), insects that are killing ash and hemlock trees, respectively, throughout the Midwest and the Appalachians. To help educate and better prepare professionals to combat these devastating pests, the Invasive Pest Field Day training session will be from 9:15 a.m - 4 p.m. Nov. 13 at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pa.
As the final installation of a four-part series, the Pennsylvania field day follows events at BayPointe Golf Club in West Bloomfield, Mich. on Aug.16; The Biltmore in Asheville, N.C. on Aug. 28; and Pheasant Run Resort & Spa in St. Charles, Ill. on Sept. 26. Each location has gathered around 100 municipal arborists, city foresters, tree care professionals, state extension agents, and university researchers interested in allaying environmental repurcussions due to an eradicated tree population.
Hosted by Bayer Environmental Science, a business division of Bayer CropScience LP, together with Arborjet, the Invasive Pest Field Day is a free, one-day event where professionals will hear a series of informative and engaging lectures presented by local experts on the management of emerald ash borer and hemlock woolly adelgid. Topics will include current information on pest biology, management in natural settings, survey updates and current quarantine and compliance agreement information, the efficacy of insecticide treatments, and building a tree care business on insect management. Additionally, attendees will participate in hands-on demonstrations of the latest application techniques.
Speakers include Casey Sclar, Ph.D., of Longwood Gardens; Shahla Werner, Ph.D., of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; Sven-Erik Spichiger of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture; and Rick Turcotte of USDA Forest Service. Bob McMullin of Keystone Tree in Pennsylvania, Wayne White of Emerald Tree Care and Dave Sutton of Tri-City Tree Doctor in Michigan will also be speaking about building a tree care business through EAB and HWA treatment.
Although HWA has plagued 47 counties within the Pennsylvania landscape over the past 40 years, this past June EAB was also discovered within state borders. Emerald ash borer is an exotic beetle that was discovered in southeastern Michigan near Detroit in the summer of 2002. Since its introduction, EAB has killed nearly every ash tree in southeastern Michigan, has spread to 40,000 square miles across Ohio, Indiana and southwestern Ontario, and has recently been detected in Illinois, Maryland, West Virginia and western Pennsylvania. The potential impact in Pennsylvania could be devastating.
The pest’s rapid spread is attributed to the transport of firewood or ash logs from infested regions to outlying areas; additionally, EAB can fly up to two miles in search of a host tree. The larvae bore into and feed on the vascular tissue of ash trees, disrupting the tree's ability to transport water and nutrients. To date, efforts to eradicate local infestations of the pest by quarantine and cutting down all the ash trees in infested areas have been unsuccessful. Throughout the Midwest, more than 20 million ash trees have been killed and in many cities, the only remaining ash trees are those that were treated with Merit® or other imidacloprid-containing products.
HWA was first introduced to the eastern United States in Virginia during the 1950s and has spread as far north as Maine and as far south as Georgia. The pest has threatened eastern and Carolina hemlock trees in Pennsylvania since 1967. A heavy infestation of HWA can kill a tree in as little as one year.
Because the insects have no natural enemies in the United States, nothing prevents EAB and HWA from infesting ash and hemlock trees. Soil drenching or injection of Merit is a widely used and effective treatment, from which the trees will remain clean for at least a year after eliminating the infestation.