You've got trees on your property: Are they susceptible to emerald ash borer, a devastating insect that is ravishing ash trees across the country? To help Colorado landowners determine if trees on their property are susceptible, the Colorado State Forest Service and Colorado State University Extension have released a free app that will allow people to use their mobile devices to ascertain whether a tree may be a potential target.

EAB is highly destructive and a non-native insect that arrived here from Asia. First detected in Colorado in 2013, the bug is fatal to all infested ash trees, unless the trees have been chemically treated.

Keith Wood, CSFS community forestry program manager, commented that the most important thing Colorado communities can do is "prepare for emerald ash borer's arrival by increasing their EAB awareness, sharing information about how to identify ash trees and learning symptoms of this pest."

The EAB/Ash Tree ID app is available for both the iOS and Android operating systems, and can be downloaded from your favorite app source. Just visit and search "ash tree" to find the new app. With this app, you have a step-by-step process to determine if a given tree appears to be a true ash or not, and it offers links and other information about EAB for users who suspect they might have an ash tree.

The app is also designed to prompt landowners to consider early management options for the pest. This may include replacing unhealthy trees before they die, treating high-value trees with the proper insecticides and planting new trees near ash that might ultimately succumb to the pest.

The pest is responsible for the death of tens of millions of ash trees in 30 states and two Canadian provinces. It has only been detected in Boulder County in Colorado, yet the pest has become a concern for communities all over the state — because each year it can fly up to a half-mile to infest new trees, and it can spread faster through human transport of firewood. An estimated 15% or more of all urban and community trees in the state are ash, which are susceptible; the number in rural areas is not known.

For more information about ash tree identification, the symptoms of EAB and treatment options, go to csfs.colostate.edu/emerald-ash-borer. For current information about EAB in Colorado and EAB quarantine information, visit eabcolorado.com.

Source: Colorado State Forest Service, Colorado State University