DEFINITIONS:
CABLING: This is
not a do-it-yourself
project. An arborist
needs to determine the
right height for one or
two cables, he'll climb
the tree and drill a hole
through each main branch
and insert a threaded,
galvanized eyebolt that
is held in place with a
large washer and two
nuts. The two eyes are
connected using steel
cable. To keep the trunk
from splitting, he may
also drill crisscrossing
holes through the trunk
for threaded rods. The tree
will eventually grow over
and hide the rods, but it
can't be allowed to cover
the eyebolts, which have
to be inspected, and
perhaps adjusted, every
year or two as the trunks
grow.
CAVITY
FILLING:
A tree
cavity is similar to a
cavity in your tooth.
Without proper treatment,
the situation will only
get worse. Unfortunately,
cutting down on sweets
and brushing regularly
will not help to prevent
a tree cavity.
In simple terms, a cavity
in a tree is a neglected
bark injury that can be
the result of many
factors. The most common
are improper pruning,
mechanical injury and
storm damage. Storm
damage and injury from
gnawing animals and
landscape equipment
(lawnmowers and string
trimmers) contribute to
bark injury by tearing
the bark from the tree
trunk or branch. When
bark injury has occurred,
the exposed sapwood or
heartwood is more
susceptible to attack by
fungi that initiate the
decay process. Insects
and animals such as
raccoons, woodpeckers and
squirrels that inhabit
tree cavities utilize the
tree wound as the front
door to their new home.
Carpenter ants, in
particular, will excavate
tunnels throughout the
decayed portion of the
tree and excrete wood
preserving enzymes as
they do so. While these
preservatives are
beneficial to the tree,
the tunnels the ants
create allow water to
accumulate. Excess water
simply facilitates the
wood rotting process.
VERTICLE
MULCHING:
Vertical
mulching is the process
of making many holes in
the soil of the root zone
of a particular tree with
the purpose of creating
many entryways for air,
moisture, and nutrients
to reach the roots of a
given tree. This process
improves the overall
health and vigor of any
tree. To properly
vertical mulch, an
electric or gasoline
powered drill and a 2 to
3” diameter auger is
required.
EMERALD
ASH BORE: 
The
emerald ash borer
(Agrilus
planipennis or Agrilus
marcopoli and
EAB) is a green beetle
native to Asia.
In
North America the borer
is an invasive species,
highly destructive to ash
trees in its introduced
range. The damage of this
insect rivals that of
Chestnut blight and Dutch
Elm Disease. To put its
damage in perspective the
number of chestnuts
killed by the Chestnut
Blight was around 3.5
billion chestnut trees
while there are 3.5
billion ash trees in Ohio
alone. Dutch Elm Disease
killed only a mere 200
million elm trees while
EAB threatens 7.5 billion
ash trees in the United
States. The insect
threatens the entire
North American Fraxinus
genus, while past
invasive tree pests have
only threatened a single
species within a genus.
Since its accidental
introduction into the
United States and Canada
in the 1990s, and its
subsequent detection in
2002, it has spread to 14
states and adjacent parts
of Canada. It has killed
at least 50 - 100 million
ash trees so far and
threatens to kill most of
the ash trees throughout
North America. The green
ash and the black ash
trees are preferred.
White ash is also killed
rapidly, but usually only
after green and black ash
trees are eliminated.
Blue ash displays some
resistance to the emerald
ash borer by forming
callous tissue around EAB
galleries; however, they
are usually killed
eventually as well.
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