Emerald ash borer What is it? An invasive tree pest that kills ash trees. Where is it? Boulder and Longmont are now the only places in the state the beetle has been discovered. It has been spotted in 24 other states and Canada. How do I recognize it? Look for dead branches, crown thinning, excessive sprouting, ‘S’-shaped tunnels under the bark, ‘D’-shaped exit holes and severe woodpecker damage in ash trees. What are governments doing about it? There’s a Boulder County quarantine to slow the spread. Cities and towns are coming up with EAB management plans. Longmont plans to treat a third of public ash trees this summer and replace two-thirds of public ash trees. There’s a quarantine? Ash wood or hardwood firewood must be double-ground before it can be removed from Boulder County (or parts of Erie in Weld County). Longmont residents can drop wood debris off for free at the Waste Diversion Center, 140 Martin St. There are stiff fines for moving un-ground wood from the area. What should I do if I have an ash tree? Make a plan for your ash tree by considering if it’s healthy enough to treat with pesticides. If you think your tree could have EAB, or have general questions, contact the Colorado Department of Agriculture at 888-248-5535, email CAPS.program@state.co.us or visit the EAB Identification and Reporting page at 1.usa.gov/22F2UcD More info: The Boulder County webpage is bit.ly/countyEAB. The state webpage is bit.ly/stateEAB. Boulder’s webpage is bit.ly/BoulderEAB and Longmont’s is bit.ly/LongmontEAB.

The emerald ash borer beetle has been detected in Longmont, causing forestry staff to speed up their plan to combat the destructive little bug.

The beetle, which kills ash trees, was first discovered in Boulder in 2013. The beetle’s appearance in Longmont represents the first sighting in the state outside of Boulder. It has been discovered in 24 other states and Canada.

In Longmont, there are roughly 43,000 public and private ash trees, according to a news release from the Colorado Emerald Ash Borer Response Team. The city manages 2,800 public ash trees.

Longmont Arborist James Young with Bodhi Tree Care was called about an ash tree on private property near the intersection of Ninth Avenue and Hover Road. He said when we got there he saw all the telltale signs of the beetle.

“We’ve been training a while for this, with city meetings and classes,” Young said. “I deal with ash trees every day, so I was looking out for it. I took a piece of wood and there was a dead (emerald ash borer) sticking out of it.”

Young alerted Longmont Forester Ken Wicklund, who went out to look at the tree. Wicklund was pretty sure the bugs he saw swarming around during the warm part of the day were emerald ash borers but sent some specimens off to the Colorado Department of Agriculture for confirmation, just in case.

Wicklund grabbed a few suspected beetles out of the air and slipped them in a sealed plastic bag that he displayed at Wednesday’s announcement.

The discovery of the beetle in Longmont likely means another eight years until the city hits the peak in what’s called the “death curve,” Wicklund said. Dead ash trees will take some time to appear, but once they do, it will happen exponentially and peak in roughly eight years.

“It’s not like there will be hundreds of dead trees this year or even tomorrow,” Wicklund said. “But this is confirmation that people need to have a plan for their private ash trees.”

Laura Pottorff, quarantine program manager for the Colorado Department of Agriculture, was on hand in Longmont on Wednesday. She said there’s no way to tell how long emerald ash borer has been in Longmont, but likely between two and three years.

“There’s no way to tell when or where they will show up,” Pottorff said.

The Longmont discovery won’t mean any change to the Boulder County quarantine for now, Pottorff said. Due to emerald ash borer, no ash wood or hardwood firewood is allowed outside of Boulder County (or the portion of Erie in Weld County) without being double-ground into 1-inch-by-1-inch pieces.

What to do about ash

The state emerald ash borer response team says if Boulder and Longmont residents don’t have a plan for their private ash trees, they should formulate one. Step one is to determine if your tree is an ash tree by looking for leaves with five to nine leaflets, buds and branches growing directly opposite from one another and diamond-shaped bark ridges on mature trees.

Next, people need to decide whether the tree is healthy enough to be treated with pesticides.

“If the tree is half dead from other insects, or if it’s very small, it might not be worth investing in,” Wicklund said.

Pottorff said the Colorado Department of Agriculture licenses applicators who can apply the pesticide. She added that there are some pesticides available at home improvement stores, but said the effectiveness of those was questionable.

If the tree is infested with emerald ash borer, report it to the Colorado Department of Agriculture at 1-888-248-5535 or online at bit.ly/eab-report-form.

As for the city’s public ash trees, Longmont forestry staff just published a plan to deal with emerald ash borer that calls for treating one-third of the 2,800 public ash trees and removing and replacing two-thirds of the trees.

Due to the confirmation of emerald ash borer in Longmont, the city is suspending its removal and replacement efforts in order to concentrate on treating the first 300 trees this summer. The focus will be on high visibility areas such as Thompson Park, Collyer Park, Sunset Park and Golf Course, Twin Peaks Golf Course and downtown areas.

The pesticide, which is injected into the base of healthy trees with a trunk diameter larger than 10 inches, lasts for three years. Forestry staff plans to treat another 300 trees in 2017 and the last 300 trees in 2018.

Wicklund planned to ask for an additional $2 million in the current city budget cycle for next year, but says now the forestry department might have to use emergency funds to start treatment this month.

Karen Antonacci: 303-684-5226, antonaccik@times-call.com or twitter.com/ktonacci