The Battle to Save Ash Trees In Mississauga Is On!

Back in the late 1990’s the  Emerald Ash Borer bug arrived in South western Ontario from Asia and slowly started infecting ash trees in Mississauga and other areas in the GTA. Discovered in the early 2000’s, the bug gets into the Ash tree and slowly kills the tree, and the hard part is that much of the damage has been done before the tree appears sick on the outside.

In response, the City of Mississauga has started a campaign to save city owned ash trees by giving them an injection that will kill the bug. The main areas that the treatment will occur is in Meadowvale, Erin Mills and Rathwood in east Mississauga.

Below is a picture I took of a treatment being done on my own street. I spoke to the technician and he said it normally takes between 15 minutes to an hour for the tree to absorb the insecticide injection. From my research it appears that the trees will need to be treated every few years. Lucky for my street he said the trees were taking the injection quickly, which is a good sign that the trees aren’t too far gone. He said that other trees aren’t so lucky and that there’s a good possibility that some of the trees won’t be able to be saved.

I think that this campaign to save the ash trees is very important for the residents in the affected areas. Part of what makes living in the more mature areas of Meadowvale and Erin Mills desirable is the mature trees and that is why we need to do what we can to save them. If you have an ash tree on your own property, please keep in mind that it is your responsibility to treat your own ash tree and the City of Mississauga will not pay for it, however I do think the City should make arrangements with a contractor where residents can take advantage of bulk pricing for the treatment of their Ash trees. Click here for more information on the Emerald Ash Borer bug,  how to identify an Ash Tree and how to get your Ash Tree in Mississauga treated.