Emerald Ash Borer In St. Louis – What You Need to Know
We have been trying to prepare our clients for the Emerald Ash Borer invasion for the last 10 years! We have articles in EVERY newsletter and have been discussing strategies for preventative treatments. The media has been getting the word out, but there is also a lot of misinformation, so please call us if you have any questions or if you want to talk about a proposed treatment.
- The EAB will eventually kill every ash tree in the U.S. that has not been treated.
- Missouri has 3-5 native species of ash and a myriad of hybrid varieties.
- Proper treatment will save your tree.
- There are at least 3 systemic treatments that are effective – consult your arborist for the best option.
- Treatments will need to continue for the foreseeable future.
- Ash trees killed by EAB become very brittle and will need to be removed to avoid major hazards.
- Proper disposal of the tree is essential – ground to 1 inch or smaller chips to keep beetles from hatching in the dead trees.
- Adults hatch out of dead or dying trees in early spring and feed on leaves before laying eggs. Larvae hatch and bore into branches, quickly destroying the vascular system.
MFS RECOMMENDATIONS:
- Decide which Ash trees you want to invest in for treatment.
- Consult your arborist for a long range plan to plant other species to take over shade and screening that your ash trees currently provide.
- If you have many ash trees, you may want to let them go gradually and stagger the removal costs.
- BEWARE of companies that are using this epidemic as a scam. We have already seen many treatments done incorrectly, and much misinformation about timing and treatment options.
- MFS treats the trees using the least invasive systemic treatment initially (soil injections), and then engages the more invasive methods (injecting into the trunk) when populations build.
We were very pleased with the service and particularly the knowledge & professionalism of your staff. We would certainly recommend you.
We are very pleased with the plantings suggested by and picked out by Mike. The men arrived on time to plant the boxwood and witch hazel tree; dug out the stump and cleaned up. They were pleasant and helpful – we couldn’t have asked for a better team.
We were very pleased and impressed with Dan and his team. We love our new trees and garden.
Thank you so much for all the information you provide – the watering information, the emails and the flier. I read it all and have learned so much. My magnolia trees look surprisingly healthy considering the way they looked when I first called.
Kevin Seger provided expert advice and recommendations about tree maintenance and removal. He listened to my needs and provided a thorough and affordable proposal. On the day of the job, I was very impressed with crew leader, Dave and his team (Felix & Adam). They were professional, efficient, hard-working and very neat about clean-up.
An outstanding job on the four trees and clean-up after the work and removal. We would be happy to recommend your services to everyone – the best tree service we ever have had here in St. Louis.
Kevin was able to come out the same day I called and a crew was out the next day! Great prompt service. I was not at home when the work was done but results show they did a fine job.
Everyone came through as usual when I needed the crew to come back & take out the balance of the fire blight. They did not have a bucket the first time and were so nice and professional about coming back again.
Thank you again for responding to our urgent need after the storm took down our 2 trees & deposited them across our driveway. Your crew, as always, did a fabulous job. Professional, courteous & it is a pleasure doing business with your company.
We appreciate your knowledge and professionalism. Your employees are prompt and courteous and willing to do whatever needs to be done to complete the project. Cleanup was great.
