City: Emerald Ash Borer Will Invade Duluth

The emerald ash borer may only be in Superior and on Park Point, but the city of Duluth says the bug will eventually make its way through town.

City officials say they are preparing to either inject or cut down more than 2,400 trees to deal with the pesky tree-eating bug.

The bug was found last year on Park Point, which is the last confirmed location of EAB.

“It’s most likely inevitable that it’s going to reach the rest of the city of Duluth. It’s just a matter of when. And there are a lot of ash trees on our boulevards … a minimum of 24 hundred trees, and they provide a lot of value to our citizens,” said Dale Sellner, with the city of Duluth.

Some ash trees in Gary New Duluth have already been injected with insecticide, which will need to be performed every two years to keep the bug away.

But the city says the many of the ash trees will come down over the next three to five years if they are too old or weak.

“Our goal is that if we take a tree down, we’re going to plant a tree. So we will do it systematically and methodically,” Sellner explained.

The Duluth City Council will have to approve the final attack plan after forestry experts look it over.

For more information: http://www.duluthmn.gov/parks/emerald–ash–borer/