Emerald Ash Borer Confirmed – or Not?

A couple of recent articles in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle may confuse the average person with regard to whether or not Emerald Ash Borer is alive and well in the greater Rochester area.  Confirmed cases in Chili, downtown Rochester and Henrietta have made the news, as have non-confirmed sightings in Brighton, Penfield and Pittsford.   While the DEC was not able to find EAB in the trees in the latter neighborhoods, signs and symptoms are evident in ash trees all over Monroe County.  Local certified arborists feel confident encouraging their clients to pay close attention to their options and begin to act.  Those ash trees that will not be saved can be removed, and the sooner the better.  Valuable, treatable trees may be injected next spring.  Why wait until the trees begin to decline when  chances of survival are best when treatment is preventative in nature?