Emerald Ash Borer - the bug in your investment

[Marcus Auerbach]

Do you have Ash tree's on your properties? When I first heard the question from a DNR guy I was puzzeld: I had no idea, I did not even know if I could tell an ash tree from a maple. A few weeks ago I received a letter from the city stating that they found an ash tree on one of my properties infected with Emerald Ash Borer. I was ordered to remove the tree within 30 days. I drove out to the property and found a HUGE dead tree right under the power lines way back in the backyard, barley on my side of the property line. 

My landscaper is pretty good chopping down trees and not charging me an arm and a leg, but this one was right under the power lines and so I needed a tree service company take care of it. They ended up coordinating with We Energies, who is our utility company, because the tree was right in the power lines and could not just cut down without turning of the power. We Energies ended up paying for about half of the cost, but it was still almost $1000.

I was not too happy about the unplanned expense, until I spoke with one of my neighbors on th street. She has seven ash trees in her yard. All infected and all dead or almost dead. She has to take them all down and she does not have the money to do that.

The moral of the story: watch for trees when you buy an investment property. I had an expensive encounter with a huge willow tree sticking roots in my drain tile and sewer line causing massive damage and excavation. Now I have one more tree on my do not buy list: ash tees.

Here is a map of trees that have been found so far: