Dallas Leaders Hear Plan to Fight Invasive Beetle

The invasive beetle known as the emerald ash borer was up for discussion Monday in Dallas City Council, with city leaders given a plan for stopping the insect from spreading.

The emerald ash borer, or EAB, was confirmed to have arrived in Dallas County and city limits in May.

WHAT IS AN EMERALD ASH BORER?

The emerald ash borer is a small beetle, green in color and smaller than a penny.

The insect has been confirmed in more than half of the United States and has killed millions of ash trees. It was first detected in Texas in 2016 and has been detected in Bowie, Cass, Dallas, Denton, Harrison, Marion, Parker and Tarrant counties.

The beetle bores its way into the bark of ash trees and lays eggs. Larvae feed on water-conducting tissue, eventually killing the tree.

WHAT IS THE BEETLE'S IMPACT ON NORTH TEXAS?

The Texas A&M Forest Service estimates ash trees make up about 5% of the Dallas/Fort Worth urban forest and about 1% of the standing inventory forests in East Texas.

The beetle has the potential to cause significant damage to the Great Trinity Forest in Dallas, where about 40% of trees are ash trees.

In a presentation Monday to Dallas City Council, the city's Urban Forest Task Force described the beetle as being "very aggressive" in its destruction of trees, which may die within two or three years after becoming infected.

The presentation outlined a plan to examine ash trees throughout the city and assess their conditions along with the removal of any that appear infected with the beetle.

As a preservation strategy, ash trees more than 24 inches or larger in diameter and in good condition, or a grove of ash trees in good condition, will be given treatment to prevent infection.

The estimated cost would be $470,000 through 2023.

Click here to read the full presentation or read it below.