WASHINGTON — The Emerald Ash Borer now is killing trees in another local community: Infested ash trees are being removed from Rockville, Maryland’s Potomac Springs neighborhood.
“Emerald Ash Borer is the most egregious urban forest insect pest in the United States right now,” says University of Maryland entomologist Mike Raupp.
First detected in the U.S. in 2002, the Emerald Ash Borer is killing ash trees in 20 states, including Maryland and Virginia. Fairfax County, Virginia is among the localities urging residents to aggressively monitor and protect ash trees.
“Cities and individual homeowners need to put together an action plan to determine what they’re going to do to manage this pest. It’s here; it’s here to stay. We need to act now,” Raupp says.
May and June is the time to use preventive insecticides against the Emerald Ash Borer.
Raupp believes the trees are worth protecting because they play so many critical roles.
“Cooling cities, remediating stormwater runoff, taking pollutants out of the air and increasing property value. These trees are enormously valuable and beneficial,” he says.
