Emerald Ash Borer Treatment in Richmond, KY

Emerald ash borer treatment in Richmond, KY comes down to one honest question: is there still enough live canopy to be worth saving? Emerald ash borer is established across Kentucky, and untreated ash trees do not recover on their own. Richmond Tree Pros assesses the tree and gives you a straight treat-or-remove answer.

How to tell if your ash is infested

The signs show up in a fairly consistent order, and by the time the obvious ones appear the insect has usually been in the tree for a while.

• Thinning at the very top of the canopy, working downward
• Sprouts pushing out of the trunk and root flare — the tree trying to bypass damaged tissue
• Woodpecker “blonding,” where bark is flecked away in pale patches
• D-shaped exit holes about an eighth of an inch across
• Winding S-shaped galleries under loose bark

First, make sure it is an ash

Ash has opposite branching, compound leaves with five to nine leaflets, and diamond-patterned bark on mature trunks. Very few Kentucky yard trees share that combination — maple and dogwood are the other common opposite-branched trees.

The University of Kentucky Department of Entomology publishes identification and management guidance for Kentucky landowners, and the USDA Forest Service tracks the pest nationally.

The treat-or-remove decision

Treatment protects a tree that still has most of its canopy. It does not resurrect one that has already lost the top third. That threshold is the whole decision.

Treatment is also a commitment rather than a cure — protected trees stay protected only as long as the treatments continue on schedule. For a specimen shade tree over a patio, that math often works. For a mid-size ash in a fencerow, removal is usually the better spend.

• Healthy canopy, valuable location — treatment is worth discussing
• Noticeable thinning at the top — decision point, and it is closing
• Major dieback, bark blonding, sprouting trunk — removal
• Already dead — remove sooner than later; dead ash goes brittle fast

Why dead ash gets removed early

Ash killed by borer loses wood strength quickly and unpredictably. Climbers treat dead ash with real caution, and many are taken from a lift rather than on rope for that reason.

A dead ash that would have been a routine removal in year one becomes a difficult, more expensive one by year three. Waiting rarely saves money on this particular species.

Common questions

Is it too late to treat my ash tree?

If the tree has lost roughly a third or more of its canopy, treatment generally will not bring it back. Above that threshold there is usually a real conversation to have. A look at the upper canopy settles it quickly.

Do I have to keep treating forever?

For as long as you want the tree protected, yes — treatment is ongoing, on a schedule, not a one-time cure. That ongoing cost is a legitimate reason to choose removal for a tree that is not in a prime spot.

Can emerald ash borer spread to my maples or oaks?

No. Emerald ash borer attacks ash species only. If a non-ash tree in your yard is declining, something else is going on and it is worth diagnosing.

Should I move the firewood from my removed ash?

Keep it local. Moving untreated firewood is a primary way wood-boring pests reach new counties, and Kentucky discourages it. Burn it where it fell.

Still deciding whether to treat or remove? See our 2026 update on whether emerald ash borer is still spreading in Kentucky and what it means for ash trees in Madison County.

Related: hazardous tree removal · tree disease diagnosis · tree removal. Back to Richmond Tree Pros.

Richmond Tree Pros · Serving Richmond, Berea, Winchester, Mount Sterling & Madison County, KY · Call or text (859) 310-1209

Last updated August 2026