Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Shots for trees: Williston tries to stay one step ahead of invasive beetles
https://vtdigger.org/2024/06/25/shots-for-trees-williston-tries-to-stay-one-step-ahead-of-invasive-beetles/Shots for trees: Williston tries to stay one step ahead of invasive beetles
The emerald ash borer has already killed millions of ash trees across the country. Vermont locals are injecting their trees with insecticides to keep them out of the path of destruction.
VTDigger / by Emma Malinak / Jun 25, 2024 at 5:21 PM
Kris Dullmer of Ash Tree Solutions, right, injects an insecticide into an ash tree named Big Jim in the Catamount Community Forest to combat the emerald ash borer in Williston on Tuesday, June 25. Drilling and prepping the holes for the injection is Kevin Brewer of Arborjet, left. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
[...]
Experts from Arborjet — a company founded in 2000 that saves trees by injecting them with species-specific treatments — visited Williston to treat 11 ash trees with insecticide that will kill the beetles.
The emerald ash borer is an invasive species from Asia that has killed tens of millions of ash trees in North America over the past 20 years, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The beetles lay eggs in trees’ bark, and larvae burrow into and feed on inner layers of bark once they hatch, destroying the tree from the inside out.
[...]
Once the insect control formula is injected into an opening, Brewer said, the plug seals the injected treatment inside the tree where it can be distributed throughout the trunk and branches along with water and minerals taken up by the roots. After a few days, the formula — named Tree-age R10 after the medical term “triage” — will reach the bark where emerald ash borer larvae feed and the leaves where the adult beetles feed.
The insecticide poisons boring insects only, Brewer said. It isn’t absorbed into a tree’s nuts or fruits, keeping wildlife that eat products of the tree safe, he added.
[...]
The emerald ash borer has already killed millions of ash trees across the country. Vermont locals are injecting their trees with insecticides to keep them out of the path of destruction.
VTDigger / by Emma Malinak / Jun 25, 2024 at 5:21 PM
Kris Dullmer of Ash Tree Solutions, right, injects an insecticide into an ash tree named Big Jim in the Catamount Community Forest to combat the emerald ash borer in Williston on Tuesday, June 25. Drilling and prepping the holes for the injection is Kevin Brewer of Arborjet, left. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
[...]
Experts from Arborjet — a company founded in 2000 that saves trees by injecting them with species-specific treatments — visited Williston to treat 11 ash trees with insecticide that will kill the beetles.
The emerald ash borer is an invasive species from Asia that has killed tens of millions of ash trees in North America over the past 20 years, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The beetles lay eggs in trees’ bark, and larvae burrow into and feed on inner layers of bark once they hatch, destroying the tree from the inside out.
[...]
Once the insect control formula is injected into an opening, Brewer said, the plug seals the injected treatment inside the tree where it can be distributed throughout the trunk and branches along with water and minerals taken up by the roots. After a few days, the formula — named Tree-age R10 after the medical term “triage” — will reach the bark where emerald ash borer larvae feed and the leaves where the adult beetles feed.
The insecticide poisons boring insects only, Brewer said. It isn’t absorbed into a tree’s nuts or fruits, keeping wildlife that eat products of the tree safe, he added.
[...]