Ash Tree Removal in Cincinnati, OH

Ash tree removal is still a steady part of tree work in Cincinnati, years after emerald ash borer swept through. The beetle was first found in Ohio in February 2003, near Whitehouse in Lucas County, and by 2009 the US Forest Service described a nearly continuous infested area running south along I-75 to Columbus and Cincinnati. Its larvae tunnel under the bark and cut off the flow of water and nutrients; untreated ash in an infested area generally die within a few years. What is left in many backyards and along hillsides now are standing dead ash, ash that have been declining for years, and the few that were treated in time.

Why dead ash is harder to remove

A live tree bends. A dead ash dries out and becomes brittle, and limbs that look solid can snap without warning when a climber puts weight on them or a rope takes a load. The longer a dead ash stands, the more of it has to be removed from a lift or with a crane instead of by climbing, and the more each piece has to be lowered gently. That is why an ash that died two years ago is usually cheaper and safer to remove than the same tree five years later.

How to tell an ash is infested

• Thinning at the top of the crown, with dead branches showing through.
• Pale patches where woodpeckers have stripped the outer bark looking for larvae.
• Small D-shaped exit holes in the bark.
• S-shaped tunnels under loose bark.
• Clusters of sprouts on the trunk below the dying crown.

Ash have compound leaves with leaflets in opposite pairs, and older bark with a diamond-shaped ridge pattern. If you are not sure whether your tree is an ash, we will tell you.

Treat or remove?

Insecticides such as emamectin benzoate, imidacloprid and dinotefuran can protect ash, but they have to be repeated every one to three years depending on the product, and they work best on trees that are still mostly healthy. A large, healthy ash that shades your house may be worth protecting. One that has already lost much of its crown, or stands where its failure would hit a house, a sidewalk or a street, usually is not. We give you an honest view of which case your tree is.

Where ash stand matters

If a dead ash is a city street tree in Cincinnati, Urban Forestry is responsible for it; report it through 311. Ash along creeks and on wooded slopes behind houses can be left standing if nothing is within reach, but we will point out any that could fall onto a structure, a fence or a path.