Ash Tree Removal in South Bend, IN

Ash tree removal is still one of the most common tree jobs in South Bend, more than a decade after emerald ash borer arrived. The beetle was confirmed in Indiana in April 2004 and has since been found in all 92 counties. City forestry staff found it in South Bend's trees around 2011, marked more than 100 infested city trees for removal at the time, and estimated that all of the city's ash had been affected. the city forester said at the time that the lesson was to plant no more than 15% of any one species. Many private yards still have ash trees that are dead, dying or long past saving.

How to tell if a tree is an ash

Ash leaves are compound, with usually five to nine leaflets on a single stem, and they grow in opposite pairs on the branches. Mature bark has a diamond-shaped ridge pattern. In winter, look for the paired buds and twigs. If you're not sure, we'll identify it at the estimate.

Signs of emerald ash borer

The larvae feed under the bark and cut off the tree's ability to move water and nutrients. Indiana DNR describes the damage as galleries that eventually girdle and kill branches and then the whole tree. From the ground you'll see thinning and dieback starting at the top of the crown, sprouts along the trunk, patches where woodpeckers have flaked off the outer bark, and small D-shaped exit holes. Under loose bark, the tunnels wind in S-shapes.

Why dead ash gets more dangerous

Ash wood dries out quickly once the tree dies, and dead ash becomes brittle. Limbs snap off in moderate wind, and the trunk can fail low. That changes how the tree can be removed: a climber may not be able to tie into a dead ash safely, so a lift or a crane is sometimes the safer way, and those raise the cost. HomeGuide lists ash removal at about $650 to $2,000 nationally. Taking a dying ash down while the wood is still sound is usually simpler and cheaper than waiting.

Treat or remove?

Insecticide treatments can protect ash trees that are still healthy, usually ones with most of their crown intact. By this point in South Bend, most untreated ash trees are well beyond that stage. If yours still looks full, we can talk about whether treatment is realistic; if it's lost much of its canopy, removal is the honest answer.

Wood and replanting

Indiana lifted its emerald ash borer quarantine in October 2016, and the state no longer restricts moving ash wood within Indiana, though it still encourages buying and burning firewood locally. If you want to replant, pick something other than ash, and mix species. In the tree lawn, South Bend keeps a master list of recommended street trees and requires a free permit for planting as well as removal.