Emerald Ash Borer infectected ash trees ?

[WV_hillbilly]

  I'm in eastern Ohio and have some Ash trees that have been attacked by EAB. they looked healthy this summer with a full canopy of leaves  . About early November the woodpeckers started stripping the very outer most layer of bark off the trees looking for bugs . Most trees have 50%of the outer bark gone , there is still the inner bark covering the sapwood .

Will these trees have leaves this summer , or are the pretty much dead now . I'm just trying to figure out if I should cut all of them down now or just selectively cut them as they succumb to EAB. Most of them have a few sawlogs in them I will saw up   and the rest I will sell as firewood to my customers. the volume from  removing all of them is a lot more than  I have storage capacity. So if I can leave them standing without being a safety hazard , and take a few out at a time as storage permits would work out better for me . Just trying to get a handle on what to expect     

[square1]

Dead standing ash does go bad relatively fast. This is year 7, and the final year, of removing ~12-13 cord a year of dead ash.  The first five years there were few trees coming down on their own. The last couple years I'm seeing a lot more blowdown, snapped off, and punky when i fell them trees.  I walk through in summer marking the ones i recognize as not going to make it and take them the next fall/winter. Storing Firewood vertically is nice as long as possible.  There are several that have fought back and a handful that for some reason never were hit by the bug

[WDH]

From what you describe, I would expect the worst.

[WV_hillbilly]

so far very few haven't been attacked by the woodpeckers  .

I like storing firewood vertically too .
I girdle elm trees I want to take out , wait for the bark to slip off and cut them down for firewood .

  I guess wait an see if the leaves come back this spring . just trying to plan a harvest and how quick they need removed

[square1]

Considering EAB was found here in probably 2004 / 2005 and 11 / 12 years later I'm still felling standing dead ash for firewood I'd say you've got time to work a plan.  I'm certain there are variables but i think about 10 years is the real limit.  The past few years I'm leaving more & more of the wood on the ground in the woods.  I've dropped 16" trees that didn't have a stick of saleable wood in them this year and last.

[WV_hillbilly]

That eases my mind. I should be able to remove them in the next 4- 5 years and all will be ok . Thanks

[BernieBraun]

As a forester I am dealing more and more with the EAB as it invades my work area in NY.  For clients who do not have the ability to harvest their own trees and who want to capture mortality when a harvest is under taken all merchantable ash are utilized.  IF the EAB is in the woodlot the trees are going to die.

Currently on my woodlot the trees are dying from the ash yellows.  I had 200+ 18-24 DBH white ash trees that did not put our any leaves in the spring several years ago...just tons of seed.  These trees were harvested and sold to Rawlings in Dodgeville, NY to make baseball bats.  Since then I have been losing about 5% /year to the ash yellows.  I am trying to grow the smaller size classes 12-16 to larger size before selling.  Once EAB is on the woodlot the remainder of the stressed trees will die fast.

I have a bakerbluestreak mill but I can only cut so much ash in my spare time so harvesting and selling at risk trees is my best option.

There are biological controls... predatory wasps being raised at Cornell for release but they will be effective for the next generation of ash.  It is to late for the current crop.  If you want to save individual trees there are treatments...much about this online

[Rural]

Seems to me that if the woodpeckers can strip the bark off that easily that the trees are long since dead or dieing. Have lots of ash, and lots of woodpeckers and EAB in the area so will look for that in my spring assessment of my acreage, coming soon .....I hope!