Here is the ash tree that shades our home during the summer.
I sent my April 23rd story to Wayne White, the Board Certified Master Arborist who is going to make my ask tree probably the only one left in Crystal Lake’s and Lakewood’s Country Club Additions subdivision to see if I had made any mistakes and he sent me the following email.
Here’s my neighbor’s ash tree. I figure my back yard will soon have a lot more sun during the morning.
From the progress of the leafing on the ask tree over our home, I sense that it about time for him to make his second sweep through Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin. He usually makes his second sweep in June, but the season is advanced about a month by my estimate.
“Chop ’em down” is the strategy of Lake in the Hills, as this sign indicates. Click to enlarge any image.
If you want to see what he does, this 2008 article has enough photos to show you.
This time he will be injecting the insecticide to keep the Emerald Ash Borers away into the cambium of the tree (the part of the tree that draws nutrients up to the branches), as well as spraying around the tree trunk again.
In any event, here’s what he wrote:
“Awesome story as usual…. one thing I have to compliment you on (you deserve many of course) is that unlike many other newspaper reporters I have run into over the years, you have a knack for getting the details right.
“I enjoy reading your articles as they tell the whole story without any embellishment or mistakes.
“Well done – I knew that if I had time you would have loved a picture of my new truck.
“Actually a 1998 F350 dually but it is completely wrapped in EAB fighting theme.
“For the first time I am so busy I need help and my two daughters are both working for me now.
“Both licensed with Illinois for Pesticide applications.
The directors of Country Club Property Owners Association apparently didn’t heed the warnings about the Emerad Ash Borer.
“My youngest Melinda was involved doing the entire City of West Chicago contract this year. They have renewed my contract for the next 6 years for approx 1800 street tree ash.
“Roselle renewed this year for both the city and the park district (over 600 and 200 respectively).
“I also got back Downers Grove for the third year.
“Roselle is thrilled as they had a third party consultant review the ash trees in the city this year that were treated by me last year and it appears that 99% of them survived even in the face of an exploding insect population last year.
“As the first year is the hardest one to get through when starting treatment – we are well on our way to a huge success story brewing there over the next few years.
“Two weeks after my story about Arlington heights hit google alerts – the city council there voted to reimburse residents $50 per tree (one time only) for treatment of trunk injection ONLY with TreeAge – their favored treatment method.
“Why they would favor one treatment over another when they know nothing about what works is ridiculous but I feel I may have had something to do with their decision as MANY residents read my story about them and were up in arms……. It reminded me instantly of you and your never ending passion for writing on the web.
“It works. If you search ’emerald ash borer treatment’ on google, yahoo, or bing, I come up on page one of free listings.
Here’s how CCAPOA attacked the Emerald Ash Borer problem near the Lakewood’s Gate 7 Beach boat ramp.
There’s still time to call and make an appointment to have your ash tree treated.
“Even my website has grown in importance with google etc.
“The fact you link to it is HUGE as your site is of major importance to google because of your readership.”
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This was not a paid advertisement for the value of advertising on McHenry County Blog, but I do trade Wayne White his company’s ad for keeping it alive.
Got something to trade and want a better Google listing, shoot me an email.