Ping
What’s left laying around is all rotted out, but for a good 15 years all that dead ash laying around heated my winters wonderfully!! Im talking $25 a month gas bills when that wood burner was burnin!!
> a beetle from eastern China arrived in a Detroit shipping crate <
Another gift from our good friends, the ChiComs.
Same with the Brown marmorated stink bug
When it first appeared as an invasive species in our area (western MA), it quickly appeared everywhere, about 15 years ago. They especially like to wedge into window, door and roof seams in south-facing parts of the house, for winter.
A couple years after that, I saw some Robins pecking at one, and realized the local critters had found a new food source
While stink bugs still are around, they are found in much lower numbers
Had all of mine cut down in the ‘90’s.
Funny this story pops up as riding my bike last weekend I noticed there are still many that made it in my neighborhood.🙂
The same thing on a smaller scale is happening in the Florida Everglades against the Pythons.
Bobcats, Alligators and other native species have started to adapt and fight back against the pythons.
Along with aggressive hunting of pythons hopefully they can make a dent in them.
My previous house, which I sold 9 years ago had mature ash trees on the property. They were the ONLY trees I had and they were beautiful.
I spent nearly 900 dollars every year on treatment for them - I had to mix it with water and pour it around the roots in the spring. I saved every one of those trees except one way in the back that the little Chinese bastards had already infested. I warned the new owner to continue treating once a year.
Apparently they didn’t listen. I drove by it last summer and the yard was treeless. It was heartbreaking to see.
The China invasion has cost us so much more than just lost jobs.
We are being attacked in California by the horrible eucalyptus leaf beetle - a huge infestation that started in 2003 - I have to pay a lot of money to treat my 30-year old trees every six months - trees which shade my home and yard in our hot summers.
My city has decided not to treat any eucalyptus trees on city-owned property - too expensive - so they will be cut down, unfortunately. Eucalyptus are not suited to California and are illegal to plant in San Francisco (firefighters call them gasoline trees).
Hate to see them cut down - and replaced with smaller crepe myrtle trees - the wood can be burned but will coat the inside of your chimney with creosote:
“The wood’s high natural oil content accelerates the formation of flammable creosote in chimneys, requiring frequent professional cleaning to prevent chimney fires.”
The main problem with the mass die-off of ash trees is that they often grow in river bottomland habitats where other trees don't do well, so it isn't as though oak and maple will just fill in the gaps. Instead, we'll just have empty, muddy floodplains.
I think Pete put that on our Victory Garden Thread? We had an Ash, but the borers got it. Beau cut it down as it might have fallen on the deck.
That thing will not die! It keep re-sprouting. Right now it looks like a shrub. I’m asking him to keep the tallest, straightest ‘leader’ to see if it will come back to being a tree again!
Thoughts?
Just saw a beautiful pileated near State College, Pa recently!
Back in the 80s, my brother worked for a company that took delivery from numerous countries. One time he brought home fleas from a shipment from Korea I believe. Was surprised we didn't have to professionally fumigate but I remember using bug bombs and dousing our dog with flea powder. Someone told us that as the dog moved around the house, he would drop powder in carpets, couches etc. to kill the fleas.
The wasp and woodpeckers havent stopped anything in Minnesota. The plague is spreading and all over the metro dead ash trees are standing or being cut down.
I think similar happened with the zebra mussels
Are you seeing the woodpeckers come back? Are your young ash surviving?
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No and no
Blue ash may be somewhat resistant to EAB due to a higher tannin content. Research is still ongoing.