Red headed ash borer? - Ask Extension
Hello,
This weekend I was given a bunch of small logs from someone (a couple miles from my home) who had lost a dogwood tree in the January storms a...
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Red headed ash borer? #872396
Asked June 10, 2024, 11:37 AM EDT
Hello,
This weekend I was given a bunch of small logs from someone (a couple miles from my home) who had lost a dogwood tree in the January storms and I laid it all out to be garden borders in our yard. However, my husband noticed a weird bug on one of the last loads of logs we moved to the backyard, and after looking it up we believe it’s a redheaded ash borer. I’m seeing mixed information about how serious of a problem this is, and I’m wondering if I need to take the logs all back out (it was a lot of work so I’m hoping not, but of course it’s not worth risking the rest of our trees). Are there any methods for dealing with them? Appreciate any information you might have. Thanks!
Multnomah County Oregon
Expert Response
From what I read, the red headed ash borer is similar to many other longhornded borer beetles (roundheaded borers) in that it mostly colonizes trees or branches of trees that are already declining. So as long as the trees in your area are healthy, it is not a big threat. It is also a relatively common native insect so that moving the infested wood to your property is not a big problem.
One question is how green are the logs - if they are still relatively green and not totally dried out, then removing the bark can prevent the beetles from infesting further. Any beetles that have bored deeper into the wood will have gone past the bark and under-bark layers.
To investigate further, you could inspect some of the logs, remove bark and look for boring holes and feeding galleries. If the logs do not have many holes or galleries, it could mean that the adult insect(s) you observe are just now arriving, attracted to the logs, and the logs are not yet infested. In which case removing the bark will prevent infestation.
If you find that many of the logs appear to be infested and you wanted to be extra cautious, then you could dispose of the invested wood. However, as I said earlier, even if they are infested, its probably not a major threat as long as neighboring trees are currently healthy.
One question is how green are the logs - if they are still relatively green and not totally dried out, then removing the bark can prevent the beetles from infesting further. Any beetles that have bored deeper into the wood will have gone past the bark and under-bark layers.
To investigate further, you could inspect some of the logs, remove bark and look for boring holes and feeding galleries. If the logs do not have many holes or galleries, it could mean that the adult insect(s) you observe are just now arriving, attracted to the logs, and the logs are not yet infested. In which case removing the bark will prevent infestation.
If you find that many of the logs appear to be infested and you wanted to be extra cautious, then you could dispose of the invested wood. However, as I said earlier, even if they are infested, its probably not a major threat as long as neighboring trees are currently healthy.
