LAKEWOOD, Colo. — The City of Lakewood has identified and confirmed its first case of emerald ash borer beetles, an invasive insect that kills ash trees.
The emerald ash borer, or EAB, is a wood-boring beetle from Asia. It was first detected in Colorado in 2013, in Boulder County.
While the beetles only affect ash trees, which are very common in Colorado, once they are infested with EAB, they kill the tree from the inside out over several years.
Arborist and district manager for Davey Tree Expert Company Michael Sundberg says ash trees make up about 1 in 5 of all trees in Colorado.
"It's kind of an inevitable spread into a new city. There's tons of trees that the bug has available to eat, and that's kind of one of the reasons it's such a big problem," said Sundberg.
Trees with an EAB infestation have distinctive "D"-shaped exit holes where adult insects emerge to find the next tree, bark splits, or "S"-shaped tunnels underneath those bark splits.
The City of Lakewood Forestry Department said the emerald ash borer affects about 15% of the city’s urban tree canopy. They advise treating your ash tree to protect it from EAB and only hiring licensed tree contractors for treatment or removal.
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