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City of Syracuse Begins Treating Ash Trees Against Invasive, Deadly Beetle

The City of Syracuse is  starting to treat some 1,800 ash trees in its right of way to protect them from fatal emerald ash borer infestations.  Licensed contractors demonstrated the treatment method Tuesday on an otherwise healthy looking tree in front of a house on Houston Avenue in the Meadowbrook neighborhood.
    Harris says the 18-inch diameter tree on Houston Ave costs about $86  to treat.  He says it would take about 30 years of treatment to equal the roughly $850  removal and replacement cost of a tree, which is what would happen if left untreated. 

ASH-HARRIS.mp3
Arborist Steve Harris explains the life cycle of the invasive beetle destroying ash trees.

Damage was obvious across the street, where Harris says the city will remove two sickly ash trees this fall.   The city is encouraging property owners to get their own trees treated to prevent the spread of the emerald ash borer.  The destructive beetle was discovered in Syracuse last august, and has destroyed more than 100 million ash trees since it first turned up in North America in 2002.   

Homeowners can get more information on an arborist to help identify ash trees and how to treat them can reach out to the Cornell Cooperative extension at http://www.extendonondaga.org/natural-resources/ or Jessi Lyons at 424-9485 ext. 233 or jel264@cornell.edu.

 

Scott Willis covers politics, local government, transportation, and arts and culture for WAER. He came to Syracuse from Detroit in 2001, where he began his career in radio as an intern and freelance reporter. Scott is honored and privileged to bring the day’s news and in-depth feature reporting to WAER’s dedicated and generous listeners. You can find him on twitter @swillisWAER and email him at srwillis@syr.edu.