The town continues to take action against the invasive Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). Beginning this week, municipal ash trees on streets and in parks which continue to qualify for treatment are being injected with the bio insecticide TreeAzin® to protect them against the insect’s damaging effects. Select treated trees will be adorned with a green ribbon.
"Maintaining a healthy urban forest is vital to Oakville's livability and sustainability," said Mayor Rob Burton. "Using best forest management practices, the town is assuring a healthy, thriving tree canopy for today and years to come."
TreeAzin is a natural and safe bio-insecticide derived from the seeds of the neem tree, and provides up to two years of protection against EAB before it must be reapplied. This is the fourth treatment for many of the trees in this year’s program.
“According to the most up-to-date research results, the EAB infestation has reached extreme levels in Oakville and is now at its peak. All ash trees are under stress from the insect, but by continuing to treat the trees within the treatment program our goal is to have these beautiful trees lining our streets after the EAB population has died out,” said Jalil Hashemi, acting manager, Forestry.
The town’s EAB monitoring program suggests the EAB population will start to decline as all of the town’s ash trees will either be protected or will have died, leaving the insect with no food source. EAB larvae kill ash trees by eating the soft tissue under the tree’s bark, preventing nutrients from reaching the canopy. TreeAzin inhibits the feeding and growth of the larvae.
The town also wants to remind residents they can take action to mitigate the impact of EAB. Forestry staff say watering your treated municipal ash tree helps the tree uptake the insecticide more readily, providing added protection. In addition, residents are encouraged to remove any dead ash trees on their own property and help contribute to the town’s tree canopy by replacing with a new native tree.
Municipal street and park ash trees that did not qualify for treatment are being removed for public safety and replaced with trees of different species. Select trees marked for removal will be identified by a red ribbon.
For more information, visit oakville.ca and search Trees and Woodlands.