Emerald Ash Borer

West St. Paul and Arbor Doctor Discount Partnership

EAB will force ash tree owners to make a decision to protect or remove their trees. The City of West St. Paul is encouraging residents to treat large, well-placed, healthy private ash trees as part of an EAB treatment program. Trees considered appropriate for treatment should be greater than 10” in diameter and not competing with other trees or infrastructure.

The environmental and economic value of trees is well documented and ash trees provide a significant amount of valuable tree canopy in our community.

For example, an average ash tree in West St. Paul will:

Intercept about 1,200 gallons of stormwater annually, reducing flooding during storms and keeping pollution from our rivers and lakes.

Reduce CO2 in the atmosphere by over 600 pounds every year.

Produce the cooling effect of ten room-size air conditioners operating twenty hours a day.

Experts predict that 99% of all native ash trees in North America will die of EAB infestation unless treated.

Effective protection options exist to prevent infestations, and the City of West St. Paul has contracted with Arbor Doctor to provide a city-wide discount for homeowners wishing to protect their ash trees in 2023 and 2024.

This discount reduces the cost to protect an average West St. Paul ash tree to approximately $100. Tree protection is less costly than tree removal and replacement, even after 20 years, and retains the tree benefits to your property and the environment.

Ash trees rarely show signs of light to moderate EAB infestation, making the early stages difficult to diagnose. By the time symptoms are obvious, it may be too late to protect or save the tree.

The cost to treat a large, healthy ash tree on private property for 10 to 20 years is substantially less than the price of tree and stump removal. Ash injections must be maintained for the tree to remain healthy.

Features & Benefits of WSP’s Ash Injection Program:

  • The City’s parks department has ensured that the contractor meets its high standards for criteria such as staff training, years of experience, and number of licensed commercial pesticide applicators on staff.
  • In areas with high EAB populations, injection of Emamectin benzoate has achieved a higher success rate and protects the tree longer than soil-applied treatments.
  • Research proves trunk injection treatments against EAB are effective for two to three years.

Contact Arbor Doctor

952-242-7673
Email Arbor Doctor
Visit the Arbor Doctor website

History

In 2016 the Minnesota Department of Agriculture discovered three Ash trees infested with Emerald Ash Borer in the northern portion of West St. Paul, adding it to a list of Dakota County cities dealing with the invasive pest. The City is continuing to work the the Department of Agriculture to determine an accurate scope of the infestation in West St. Paul.

A recent public-tree inventory determined West St. Paul’s boulevard trees are comprised of 40% Ash. A long-term approach to preserve quality trees and replace declining Ash will be implemented. A variety of species will be used to replace Ash trees to minimize the possibility of a large-scale issue in the future.

With the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) through Dakota County, the City of West St. Paul created a comprehensive EAB Action Plan in 2015 to deal with the invasive species upon its arrival. In an effort to minimize the impact on the community both financially and aesthetically, the plan includes a combination of removal and treatment. 

The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is an invasive beetle from Asia that was discovered in the United States during the summer of 2002 near Detroit, Michigan and has become the most destructive and economically costly forest insect ever to invade the U.S. EAB larvae feed on the inner bark of ash trees and disrupt the tree’s ability to transport water and nutrients. By the time symptoms are obvious, it may be too late to protect or save the tree. EAB populations can grow exponentially each year because the beetle has few natural predators and our ash trees have limited natural defenses. When EAB is not managed, annual ash tree deaths can quickly overwhelm the ability to remove dead and dying trees.

EAB was confirmed in Minnesota in 2009 when infested trees were discovered in St. Paul. Dakota County did not have a confirmed infestation until 2014 when EAB was confirmed on the border of Apple Valley and Eagan. Another infestation was discovered one year later in Mendota Heights and West St. Paul’s first confirmed case of was in the spring of 2016.

Click here to see West St. Paul's Emerald Ash Borer Management Plan.

Other Options

There are many other contractors in the area that treat EAB, remove trees, or can give advice on your trees.  Some of them are listed below if you are interested in getting multiple opinions:

Bartlett Tree Experts
651-699-0505

Birch Tree Care
651-409-9106

Extreme Tree Team Inc
651-336-9153

Kaposia Tree Service
651-271-4520

Davey Tree
651-337-4089 

Rainbow Tree Care
952-767-6920