Shorewood Crew Injecting Trees in Fight Against Emerald Ash Borer

Pete Theobald, who works for the Village of Shorewood's Public Works Department, was taking care of some of his babies on Wednesday afternoon as he made his way around town.

The Village's Ash trees.

Theobald was drilling holes into the bases of Ash trees planted on public property and injecting them with Tree-age, an insecticide designed to fight off the Emerald Ash Borer. He first started treating Ash trees in the Village about two years ago, then focusing his attention on older, more mature trees.

He recently finished with a second treatment on Village trees in parks and on easements and now he is making his way around the neighborhoods. He said the Village set up traps in a joint effort with the Illinois Department of Agriculture and began catching some of the Emerald Ash Borer beetles several years ago.

"We knew they were coming and we knew they were in Shorewood," Theobald said.

He said the Village treatment plan calls for injections every two years for six years and then wanes down to injections every three years—but only on Ash trees located on public properties such as easements.

"People ask about trees in their yard," Theobald said. "I try to direct them to an arborist."

He showed off a Ash Borer beetle he collected from one of the Village traps. He said he has collected as many as 10 beetles from the traps during a four-month time period, the traps put out in the spring and then checked for results in the fall.

"Trees that are six-inches in diameter or smaller are hard to treat," Theobald said. "So, we focus on bigger trees. They're harder to cut down and more costly to cut down, too. We're just trying to be proactive—hoping for the best."

Theobald said 20 percent of all trees in Shorewood were Ashes at one point not too long ago. Now, he said the Village has moved toward a plan of using only 3 percent of any one species in its landscaping work.