Proactive tree care can offer protection and lessen destruction from invasive beetle
Stamford, CT – (August 7, 2012) – It was only a matter of time before the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), a highly invasive and destructive pest, reached Connecticut. In mid-July, several EAB were trapped in Canfield Park and Fusco Field in Prospect, as well as in Naugatuck. Almstead Tree, Shrub & Lawn Care advises Connecticut property owners to take immediate action to lessen the destruction by and spread of this beetle that has killed over 50 million ash trees in Midwestern states and Canada.
The EAB arrived in the U.S. in the 1990s in wooden packing crates originating in China. The adult EAB does not permanently damage ash trees; however, its larvae eat the tissue layer immediately below the bark of both stressed and healthy trees, causing trees to die within two to three years of infestation.
“Although the EAB cannot be eradicated, property owners should take a number of precautions to limit the damage,” says Ken Almstead, CEO of Almstead Tree, Shrub & Lawn Care and an active ISA certified arborist with more than 23 years of experience. “Trees can be treated to prevent EAB damage, but only if treatment is applied before the tree is infested. Any infected or unprotected trees must be removed and destroyed as soon as possible.” As a preventive measure, Almstead recommends annual treatment that is applied through the tree's vascular system to protect living wood tissue. He adds that “cost-effective, environmentally sound EAB treatment protocols can preserve ash trees through peak EAB outbreaks with their healthy canopy intact.”
“Tree owners need to be extremely vigilant in evaluating the health of their trees and monitoring the spread of the EAB in their area through resources such as the website www.emeraldashborer.info and local Cooperative Extension offices,” says Almstead. Additional actions by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station to control the spread of the EAB include limitations on the transport of firewood and establishment of quarantine zones where the EAB has been detected.
Almstead Tree, Shrub & Lawn Care is located at 80 Lincoln Avenue, Stamford, CT 06902, telephone (203) 348-4111,www.almstead.com.
About Almstead Tree, Shrub & Lawn Care
Distinguished by its full line of traditional and organic services, Almstead Tree, Shrub & Lawn Care is a family owned and operated business founded by Richard E. Almstead in 1964. Today sons Ken and Michael Almstead oversee many of the daily operations, caring for residential, commercial, municipal, and school properties throughout the greater New York-metropolitan region. Almstead offers a full range of services to properly care for trees, shrubs and lawns, emphasizing scouting and diagnostics to help prevent problems. Offices are located in Hawthorne and New Rochelle, N.Y., Stamford, Conn., and North Halendon, N.J. For more information or to request a free consultation, visit Almstead athttp://almstead.com or call toll-free at 1-800-427-1900. You can also connect on Facebook or LinkedIn for the latest news, photos and promotions.
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