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The Emerald Ash Borer
How Can I Help?
Community involvement is vital in combating the spread of EAB. Here are steps you can take:
To help stop the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) in Vermont, you can:
- Don’t move firewood. At this point, every ash tree in the town of Shaftsbury should be considered infected. Don’t move firewood over long distances, which could potentially introduce the insect into places where it’s not currently present.
- Develop a plan for hazardous trees: Identify ash trees that may be at risk and develop a plan to reduce or remove the risk.
- Proactively remove problem trees: If you have an ash tree on your land that’s growing over a building or a driveway or road, remove it now. A living tree is safer (and cheaper) to take down than a dead tree.
- Participate in Monitoring Programs: Shaftsbury has around 70 miles of roads, and there are thousands of ash trees in the road right-of-ways that when they die will become hazards. We’d love your help identifying hotspots so the town can make a focused plan on how to confront the problem. Contact us if you can volunteer - we need your help!
- Treat ash trees: If you have a beloved ash yard tree that’s not already in decline, you can consider treating it with chemicals. This will involve hiring a ISA Certified Arborist to apply the pesticide each year. Treatment is expensive and this won’t be a viable option for many people.
