Wood Boring Insects

Destructive Wood Boring Insects and Beetles

Colorado is host to many different species of destructive wood boring insects and beetles. While these beetles infect many different types of trees, we are mostly concerned with the wood boring insects of ash trees. Ash trees are one of the most widely planted trees in Colorado, with the green ash or white ash being the most common species planted. There are currently six different wood boring insects that can be found in ash trees: lilac/ash borer, flatheaded appletree borer, redheaded ash borer, pigeon tremex, ash bark beetles, and the emerald ash borer.

To read more about each of these types of wood boring insects, click here for an informative PDF.

Information about the Emerald Ash Borer

The Emerald Ash Borer was first discovered in North America in 2002. It is an exotic invasive pest that is native to Asia and Eastern Russia. The EAB was discovered in Boulder County, Colorado in September, 2013. Ever since it was found in the United States, the EAB has killed 10’s of millions of trees and has caused over a billion dollars in damage.

The most important step in Emerald Ash Borer management is proper education. There is no one correct way in dealing with the EAB, but there are solutions available.

To learn more about what you can do about the Emerald Ash Borer, please download our Emerald Ash Borer Management Strategies. This presentation was created by Jim Zwack, M.S. of the Davey Institute.
For a quick guide on how to act, check out the following PDF:
Managing the Emerald Ash Borer: A decision guide on how to act.

Assessing Your Trees for the Emerald Ash Borer

If you think that one of your ash trees is infected by the Emerald Ash Borer, please watch this video provided by the CSU Plant Diagnostic Clinic.