Emerald Ash Borer

Combatting the emerald ash borer 

The emerald ash borer beetle has infested many ash trees on the Island of Montreal, including  several in Montreal West. If left untreated, infested Ash trees die within five years. To combat this infestation, all our public Ash trees have been inoculated with a vaccine called TreeAzin. You may have seen the blue markings at the base of certain street trees; this indicates that they have been included in the program. Our vaccination program, however, has only  covered public trees, not those found on private land.

Why are we doing this?

• Leaving private Ash trees untreated threatens all Ash trees in the area
• Even if trees are in your backyard, they benefit the whole neighbourhood by providing shade, lowering summer energy costs, soaking up excess storm water and increasing the value of all the properties around them
• The costs of removing a dead mature tree will run you up to $5,000
• Keeping our trees healthy helps contribute to our “Garden Suburb” aesthetic
• As the tree dies it will become dangerous

Saving your tree makes sense financially, socially, and is essential for your own security.

Visit the Canadian Food Inspection Agency website for more information.

Ash tree vaccination

Subsidy program

To effectively combat this deadly infestation, we encourage residents to identify and vaccinate their Ash trees. Reimbursement requests can be submitted to Town Hall for TreeAzin treatment of Ash trees on private land. To qualify for the subsidy:

• The resident must arrange and pay for inspection of their ash tree by a certified arborist; if the tree is not infested so as to render it unsalvageable, the resident must then arrange and pay for treatment by a certified arborist
• The resident must provide a report including address of vaccination, picture of the tree, and diameter of the vaccinated tree at 30cm from the ground, in addition to a receipt for the completed vaccination
• The vaccination must take place before August 30th

The Town will reimburse a portion of vaccination as follows:

• Trees less than 10 cm in diameter → no subsidy
• Trees 10 cm in diameter and larger → subsidy corresponding to 50% of the cost to a maximum of $250 per treatment

Please note that the treatment doesn’t assure your tree’s survival.