Beaconsfield ash trees to be tested for killer beetle
What appear to be green-coloured lanterns hanging from the upper branches of ash trees in Beaconsfield are actually bug traps installed last week to find out if the deadly emerald ash borer has reached the municipality. The lantern-shaped traps – a total of 11 of them – were put up by public works teams working in conjunction with private forestry engineers hired last month by the city.
With an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 ash trees on public and private property throughout the West Island suburb, city officials say, they thought it wise to hire the Laval-based firm of specialists to act as consultants on a plan to protect the municipality’s ash-tree stock.
“We want to do everything we can to protect our ash trees,” said Patrice Boileau, Beaconsfield’s director general. “The trees in Beaconsfield are a very important asset. We have a lot of ash trees in our sector.”
Installing the bait traps was the first step of the plan, said Luc Nadeau, the lead forestry engineer on the project. “We need to see if the emerald ash borer is in the territory.”
At this point, Nadeau said, it is still unknown whether the invasive beetle has reached the Beaconsfield area and, if it has, to what extent it has infested local trees. Depending on what the traps reveal, Nadeau added, there are a number of things that can be done to contain the beetle.
Over the past decade, the emerald ash borer has laid waste to millions of ash trees in Ontario and the northeastern United States.
In 2008, the invasive beetle, which is believed to have entered North America on shipping crates from Asia a decade ago, was detected on the South Shore and, last summer, it turned up in Montreal’s east end.
This spring, the federal government regulatory agency responsible for inva- sive species, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, added Montreal and West Island municipalities to its list of areas requiring emerald ash borer regulations.
As a result, West Island municipalities have introduced restrictions aimed at preventing the spread of the emerald ash borer, including implementing this summer’s ban of branches in green-waste pickups. The spread of the emerald ash borer is believed to be linked to the transport of infested ash wood.
Boileau said other major North American cities, including Toronto and Detroit, were taken by surprise and didn’t have a chance to ward off the emerald ash borer. “We are trying to be proactive. The experience of others and the ongoing research is helping us.”