Ash Tree Removal in Saint Paul, MN

Ash tree removal in Saint Paul has moved from the street to the back yard. Minnesota's first known emerald ash borer infestation was found here in May 2009, in South Saint Anthony Park, when the city had about 27,000 boulevard ash. By the end of 2024 Saint Paul had removed 26,932 ash from the public right-of-way and finished that program, with a few hundred boulevard ash left only where neighbors pay to treat them under permit. The city's own report notes that thousands of ash still stand on private property and parkland, and that is where the remaining work is.

How to tell if your ash is infested

Saint Paul Forestry considers the whole city infested, so the question for an untreated ash is how far along it is. Early signs are easy to miss: a thinning crown at the top, a few dead branches, then sprouts along the trunk. Woodpeckers feeding on the larvae flake off the outer bark and leave pale, blond patches on the trunk and limbs. Under loose bark you may find S-shaped tunnels, and on the bark, small D-shaped exit holes. When more than about half the crown is thin or dead, removal is usually the realistic choice.

Why timing matters

Ash killed by the borer dries out quickly and gets brittle. A live or recently infested ash can be climbed and rigged normally. A tree that has been dead for a few years can snap where a climber ties in, and limbs break unpredictably when they are lowered, so the work gets slower and riskier. On a small Saint Paul lot, where the tree stands over a garage or a neighbor's fence, that difference shows up in the method and the price.

Treat or remove?

Treatment is a real option for some trees. Saint Paul injected select public ash with emamectin benzoate and chose candidates carefully: trees 10 to 20 inches in diameter, in good health without structural defects, on good sites without overhead wires. The same logic applies at home. A healthy, well-shaped ash in a good spot may be worth protecting; one already in decline, badly placed or over the house is usually better removed. We will tell you which we think yours is.

City orders and the dangerous tree ordinance

Saint Paul's 2024 EAB report says the city expects increased enforcement of its dangerous tree ordinance on private ash. Under Chapter 175, Forestry can mark a diseased or dangerous private tree with a red ring and send a letter giving the owner 30 days to remove it and dispose of the wood. If you get a letter, we quote to the specifications in it.

Ash wood and the quarantine

All of Ramsey County is inside Minnesota's emerald ash borer quarantine. The quarantine regulates moving ash logs, branches, stumps, roots and chips, as well as hardwood firewood, out of quarantined areas. Ash wood from your yard should be used at home or handled through the proper disposal routes, not loaded into a truck for the cabin up north. We agree on how the wood will be handled before the job starts.