Homeowners warned of spreading ash borer

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

Spring is here. Get ready for a warming sun, blooming flowers, baseball, and barbecue — and the emerald ash borer.

“There is truly an epidemic of the emerald ash borer in this city,” Dr. Bob Buckman told the monthly meeting of the Naperville Area Homeowners Confederation on Saturday. “We are losing trees.”

The meeting focused on landscaping and featured representatives from The Care of Trees, Morton Arboretum and C.B. Conlin Landscapes.

Buckman, president of NAHC, stressed that there existed no natural defense to the Asian green beetle that only hit North America in the early part of the 21st century.

With about 25 percent of Naperville trees being ash, Buckman urged those in the room to attend the city’s EAB forum at 7 p.m. April 4. in City Council chambers at the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St.

COT representative Skeet said that while there was no natural predator that could fight the EAB, chemical treatment of infested trees had a success rate of 85 percent or better, depending on the age of the ash tree.

If left untreated, the only remedy is complete removal of the tree. “If there is not a preventative program, those (homeowners) associations can be looking at thousands and thousands of dollars,” Skeet said.

Aesthetics aside, Skeet stressed financial advantages to healthy trees and proper landscaping. Among them are:

Landscaping can add up to 15 percent to a home’s value, according to the Gallup organization.

The added value of good landscaping provides a 100 to 200 percent recovery value at selling time, according to Money magazine.

Landscaping can reduce air-conditioning costs by up to 50 percent by providing shade for windows and walls, according to the American Public Power Association.

Beth Corrigan of Morton Arboretum is working on putting together a homeowners association manual for being effective stewards of the urban environment. “We want to find out what your resources are,” she said, “We want to put resources together and connect the right people.”

One questioner from the audience wanted to know what other problems the experts could foresee for the near future.

“Japanese beetles could be a high population this year,” Skeet said. He cited the heavy snow cover preventing a deep freeze this year, which would normally kill off the Japanese beetle.

But Skeet also saw an advantage in the dampness. “We did not see a high population of the gypsy moth this year,” he said.

Skeet noted the riskiness of planting ash trees and referred homeowners to the city’s website for a thorough listing of Naperville subdivisions infected with EAB. “While it’s legal to sell an ash tree,” he said. “It’s the awareness of what you are buying (that is important.)”