I know Bedford has seen an infestation of Emerald Ash Borer but I have not heard anything from anywhere else in the province. There is almost nothing on the internet about it. I know they are testing parasitic wasps and some pesticides that may work to slow the bugs down. We have many great ash trees and altho I much rather let them grow, if we are going to lose them I would rather harvest them and get the lumber. I would hate to wait until it is too late to at least get the lumber from them. So has anyone in the ash borer in western Nova Scotia? thank you
anyone seeing Emerald Ash Borer in Western Nova Scotia?
- Thread starter top gnome
- Start date
Might be worth checking in with the department of forestry. They should be up to speed if the bug is in your area.
I have taken down about 40 ash trees, some were beautiful and are now dead. You should have a good 2 to 4 years to get the standing dead down, if they get infected, and still have decent firewood and maybe lumber. The borer attacks the bark leaving tiny holes. They then burrow under the bark leaving snail trails. A good sign will be the loss of leaves at the tree top, indicating the tree is dying. I still have quite a number of dead trees standing..some died 5 yrs ago. The smaller trees fall first with the root ball rotting. Here is one that fell, got caught up in other trees and the base ended up going 10 feet in the air. It is about an 80 ft tree with a base of about 16 inches.
In northern Michigan the ash trees are resprouting from the stumps where the state cut them after the EAB passed through. Some are 6 inches DBH and 25+ feet tall.
Yep. I have the same thing. Multiple sprouts from one stump. Looks like a bush at the start. At some point , I believe, I’m gonna pick the best looking sprout and cut the rest. Would be a nightmare if they all eventually got 75 ft tall. Do make good privacy when they are short.
All these dead trees I’m dealing with are the main reason I bought Kubbie and implements and subsequently joined this great forum!
Can you imagine the bill to have someone take down 50 plus trees! I was originally quoted $1000. a tree to get it on the ground, and I take it from there. Lumber companies weren’t to interested due to the number of ash they were dealing with, and the lay of my land. Plus their heavy equipment would have made one heck of a mess that I would have had to deal with. …..
All these dead trees I’m dealing with are the main reason I bought Kubbie and implements and subsequently joined this great forum!
Can you imagine the bill to have someone take down 50 plus trees! I was originally quoted $1000. a tree to get it on the ground, and I take it from there. Lumber companies weren’t to interested due to the number of ash they were dealing with, and the lay of my land. Plus their heavy equipment would have made one heck of a mess that I would have had to deal with. …..
Last edited:
Thank you it is good to know there will be warning signs and time to deal with the trees. I have a lot of spruce to have sawed into lumber due to storms. So may see how that goes before starting on the Ash. It definitely was part of the reason I got the Tractor and grapple as well.. The Department of Forestry has not gotten back to me yet. Such a Shame we have many ash trees, one in the back yard that is maybe 3 ft across and is our primary shade tree in the back yard.
You may wish to research Arborists ? Just a thought. Back when my trees first started getting infected I had a tree company come to my place for a inspection. They did offer a tree injection service, where they drill into the tree and inject a solution. It was rather expensive, and there were no guarantees. That was about 5 yrs ago. Maybe science has improved since then and prices have come down?? We also lost a huge ash in our immediate back yard and it sucks. When we built 20 yrs ago, we did our very best to save that tree from heavy equipment as it was only about 20 ft from the house and it was beautiful.
Yes I will look into options ours is also about 20 ft from the house and is also the most beautiful tree on the property. I did read about parasitic wasps that actually lay eggs in the ash borer or the eggs of the ash borer. But it may be swallowing a spider to catch a fly as so many good ideas turn out to be. Not sure if that solution will be available in time.
Just some pics of what’s happening in my area. Trees have been dead for about 5 yrs. Notice the one tree I had marked to take down. It broke about half way up in a windstorm. I took the trees down on the west side of my property first….wind seems to always come from the west and these trees fell to the east as well
You can blame the politicians for the problem. The US government knew about the Asian Ash borer and required all wooden products coming from China had to be fumigated before going on the ship. That was about 25 years ago. At some time in the past, China either stopped doing this, or the US dropped the regulation. The insect was first discovered in Detroit in 2002. Just one more of those things that we pay the price for having products imported from China.
How come they can't send us some invasive species that eats every mosquito, deer fly, black fly, no-see-ums, and ticks?
GreensvilleJay
Well-known member
Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
If you've got ONE 'bad bug', kiss ALL your trees goodbye...ALL the ash near me(Hamlton) is felled ,ground up for mulch( city rots it....)
I never understood the guv for not demanding that ALL products imported be on PLASTIC skids, ZERO wood. Simple,cheap, effective.....everyone wins, cept the bugs.
I never understood the guv for not demanding that ALL products imported be on PLASTIC skids, ZERO wood. Simple,cheap, effective.....everyone wins, cept the bugs.
It is a shame - thanks for the pictures. beautiful homestead. I agree it was preventable. I may start selectively harvesting and sawing into lumber and firewood sooner rather than later. Is there any areas that were spared? Is it already a done deal now that they are on the island? I know probably questions without answers. The trees right now would make good lumber if I can find someone to quarter saw. I don't have a place to put the lumber yet or a good place to put the tractor so maybe add a little area to the pole barn plan for lumber stacks. My local home hardware has 2x3 for about $5.67 each 2x3?? what the hell do you do with a 2x3? $5.67??? 2 summers ago the other lumber yard had a big sign "Home of the $2 2x4 "
Kind of got a catch 22 on my hands I need a barn to store the lumber and I need the lumber to build the barn.
I see pallet forks in my future.
The wood tick thing is crazy too. Our dog, my wife and I all got lymes the first year in Nova Scotia I bought a red dragon propane torch and burn off as much hi grass as possible and we have chickens so far fewer ticks but my neighbor from the states got vacinated some how and the dog now gets vaccinated but I guess the drug companies stopped selling it for humans because it was not profitable enough.
Kind of got a catch 22 on my hands I need a barn to store the lumber and I need the lumber to build the barn.
I see pallet forks in my future.
The wood tick thing is crazy too. Our dog, my wife and I all got lymes the first year in Nova Scotia I bought a red dragon propane torch and burn off as much hi grass as possible and we have chickens so far fewer ticks but my neighbor from the states got vacinated some how and the dog now gets vaccinated but I guess the drug companies stopped selling it for humans because it was not profitable enough.
Last edited:
From the CDC website:
Lyme disease vaccine
A vaccine for Lyme disease is not currently available. The only vaccine previously marketed in the United States, LYMERix®, was discontinued by the manufacturer in 2002, citing insufficient consumer demand. Protection provided by this vaccine decreases over time. Therefore, if you received this vaccine before 2002, you are probably no longer protected against Lyme disease.
Whether it was profitable enough I don't know. I can tell you that our dogs get their vaccine and I don't know a single person who ever got a LYMERix shot.
You might think that users of this site would be more exposed to Lyme disease than the general population. I'd be surprised if 10% of these users got it - when it was available.
Around here a 3 ft diameter ash tree is well past its life expectancy ash borer or not.