Ash Tree Removal in Dayton, OH

Ash tree removal in Dayton has been steady work for years. Emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle from Asia first identified in Canton, Michigan in 2002, reached Ohio soon after, and it has since killed most untreated ash in the Miami Valley. Ash were once one of the most common trees planted along streets and in subdivisions here, and many dead or dying ash still stand along fence lines, in backyards and in wooded lots.

Why dead ash are a problem

Ash wood that has died dries quickly and loses strength. Limbs break off in light wind, and the trunk can snap low without much warning. For the people taking a tree down, that means the tree may not hold a climber's weight or the forces of rigging, so work shifts to a lift or, for big trees near houses, a crane. The practical result is simple: an ash removed while it is still partly alive is usually cheaper and safer to take down than the same tree a few years after it dies.

How to tell if an ash is infested

Look up first. Thinning leaves and bare twigs at the top of the crown are often the first visible sign. Then look at the trunk: woodpeckers stripping outer bark to reach the larvae leave pale, blotchy patches, a pattern sometimes called blonding. Adult beetles leave small D-shaped exit holes about an eighth of an inch across, and under loose bark you may see winding, S-shaped tunnels. Clusters of sprouts on the lower trunk show the tree is trying to survive. Not sure the tree is an ash? Ash has leaves in opposite pairs, compound leaves with five to nine leaflets, and bark with a diamond-shaped ridge pattern on older trees.

Remove or treat?

A healthy, valuable ash with most of its crown left can often be protected with systemic insecticide applied by a licensed applicator; systemic products stay effective for one to three years, depending on the product. Once a tree has lost roughly a third or more of its canopy, treatment rarely brings it back. We will tell you honestly which side of that line your tree is on.