Monday, June 11, 2007

Here We Go
(again)
Seems we have another ecological problem and, possibly, disaster getting up steam in the Midwest. It reminds me of the Dutch Elm Disease that eradicated this city's most beautiful trees. This time, it's the ash trees .
This ash borer has killed millions of trees already. There is a quarantine on wood. That is, you cannot carry wood from one area to another. If you camp and buy your wood, you need to get it near your camp site. The idea, of course, is to avoid transporting the little bugger to new areas (as a major home supplier recently did...but I digress). So, what can we do?
Well, our "experts" have found a Chinese wasp which apparently will kill the ash borer's asses. Their desire is to introduce this new (flying) bugger into our area to control bugger #1. Does this have a familiar ring to it?
Haven't we introduced foreign species before only to regret when the new little citizens became a new problem? Interestingly, one area in Illinois has been successfully using an insecticide. Now, I guess, we have to choose our poison.
Paddle safe...
DS

1 comment:

DaveO said...

Stopped at our hunting camp on the way back from the Apostles and noticed Dept of Ag insect traps on some of our trees. The ash borer is bad news but the wasp could be worse. Stop the tinkering.....think carp when they talk about introducing exotics!