Trap Trees
A trap tree is a low-value ash tree girdled to attract emerald ash borer (EAB). Trap trees exploit the fact that EAB are attracted to ash trees and are used by the N.H. Division of Forests & Lands to monitor the spread. Before creating trap trees, contact the N.H. Division of Forests and Lands at (603) 464-3016 or email Kyle Lombard so your trap trees can be part of the statewide monitoring efforts.
Steps to identify and create trap trees:
- Identify a living ash in an area with some dead or dying ash. The ash can be any size, but don’t choose a tree that is too large or too small since you eventually cut the tree into 10 bolts, each a meter long. Too large and the bolts will be too heavy to handle; too small and you won’t get the approximately 30 feet of bolts needed.
- Girdle the tree before June 1, using a draw-knife or frill with an ax.
- Wait until the adult flight period ends in September.
- In the fall, cut the tree down and section it into 1-meter lengths.
- After you drop and section the tree, call Kyle Lombard for him to pick up the tree chunks or deliver the bolts to Kyle at Fox Forest in Hillsborough.
IMPORTANT: Trap trees from the EAB quarantine area may not be moved outside of the quarantine area. - Questions or to participate, call or email Kyle Lombard at (603) 464-3016.
Sink Sites
Sink sites are a management tool used to reduce local populations of emerald ash borer (EAB) and to direct them away from high-value ash trees. Much like trap trees, sink sites exploit EAB's attraction to ash trees with a mechanical injury. Sink sites are a cluster of low-value ash that are girdled. Sink sites are used by forest landowners to control the spread of EAB by manipulating which trees are infested with EAB. They are ultimately cut and destroyed.
Before creating sink sites, contact the N.H. Division of Forests and Lands at (603) 464-3016 or email Kyle Lombard.
Steps to identify and create sink sites:
- Identify high-value ash you wish to protect.
- Identify seven to ten low-value ashes grouped together in a half-acre or less within ¼ mile of the high-value ash.
- Girdle the living ash before June 1, using a draw-knife or frill with an ax.
- Wait until the adult flight period ends in September.
- Cut and destroy the sink trees once the trees are infested and after the adult flight period ends in September and before May of the following year. Destroy the sink trees by:
- Using locally as firewood.
- Using locally as a wood-product such as sawn lumber.
- Treating the trees with pesticide.
- Cutting into small pieces (3-foot long sections or shorter) and scattering on the site to dry quickly.