Popular trees in the Quad Cities are under attack. They’re being killed by an infestation of bugs from central Asia.

The Emerald Ash Borer was first identified in Davenport in 2015. It’s a beetle that feeds on ash trees until they die.

An extensive tree removal program is needed kill the invasive species. The city plans to remove all the ash trees on public land and replace them with a different species, but in order to get rid of the Emerald Ash Borer in Davenport, trees on private land need to be dealt with as well. 

“It’s a pretty phenomenally expansive project and problem, and I think it’s something not only the city is dealing with but also there’s a lot of private homeowners that have it as well,” said Davenport Mayor Frank Klipsch. 

Davenport’s ash tree removal efforts began in 2015 when the Emerald Ash Borer was confirmed in the city. The goal is to remove all ash trees from the city. Davenport city arborist Chris Johnson is heading up that effort. 

“We feel that we’ll be able to come in within budget hiring contractors, using in-house staff, and removing 500 a year, therefore reducing our number of 3,000 down to zero essentially,” Johnson said. 

Johnson says the ash trees will then be replaced with other species of trees. The cost of the project is $100 thousand a year. You can treat an ash tree to keep the ash borers out, but that’s a process you have to repeat every year. 

“To effectively treat an Ash tree, you have to do them individually, and then just the labor intensiveness of that, and then continually having to do it year after year, those fees really rack up,” Johnson said. 

Johnson says it’s more cost effective for the city to get rid of all the infected trees instead of treating each one every year, but if you’re a landowner with ash trees, it’s up to you. 

“We are considering all of the Quad Cities generally infested…Doing nothing now is not an option. We’re under the gun. The bug is here, it’s infested the general area, so you really have to make a decision essentially between removal and treatment,” Johnson said. 

If you aren’t sure what kind of trees are in your yard, click here for a helpful guide to find out if it’s an ash tree or not.