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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Emerald Ash Borer Management Plan <br />City of St. Anthony Village, MN <br />WSB Project No. 022315-000 Page 11 <br />8.1 Monitoring and Inspection (Best Management Practice #1) <br />The most efficient way to detect EAB in a tree is visual inspection for woodpecker <br />activity in the mid-to-upper canopy of ash trees during the winter months when <br />leaves are off the tree. <br /> Woodpeckers fleck off the outer darker bark while looking for EAB larvae. As <br />the woodpecker works, the inner, lighter bark is exposed, referred to as <br />“blonding” and dime sized oval holes appear along branches. <br /> February/March is the most prolific time for woodpecker activity, making it <br />even easier to identify infested ash trees. Many of the woodpecker holes <br />reveal galleries that can be seen from the ground. <br /> Since infestation levels are high, and there are many standing dead trees, <br />the City should shift to year-round surveying and inspecting to keep up <br />with the volume of trees showing woodpecker activity indicating EAB. <br />8.2 Insecticide Use (Best Management Practice #2) <br />I dentifying ash trees that can be preserved with insecticides is an important step to <br />halt any further EAB-driven ash mortality within the community. Insecticides are very <br />effective in controlling insect populations when they are applied appropriately at the <br />correct time of year in the appropriate dose (rate). There are several insecticides <br />that are registered to kill EAB in ash trees. The method advocated by the City is <br />the trunk injection of emamectin benzoate using the current industry standard <br />injection system that has efficacy data supporting its use on trees ten inches <br />or greater in diameter (DBH). <br />Table 3: Public Ash Trees Eligible for Injection <br />Condition Number of <br />Ash Trees <br />Number of <br />DBH inches <br />Excellent/Good/Fair <br />Condition 37 738 <br /> <br /> The City of St. Anthony Village has a list of approximately 37 ash trees <br />that have been injected since 2022 in parks and facilities. The average <br />diameter of an ash tree protected with injections is 20 inches in diameter. <br /> All of the injected ash trees were infested with EAB to some degree, many <br />showing some dead branches. Ash that retain the majority of their canopy <br />after injection will be pruned to remove deadwood as needed. If they continue <br />to improve in condition; injections will continue every two years to retain the <br />tree benefits and ecosystem services. <br />According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service <br />EAB website in February 2018, emamectin benzoate was “…found to be the most <br />effective product and provided two to three years of nearly complete EAB control. All <br />EAB adults fed leaves from trees treated with emamectin benzoate died within four