West Virginia is losing its ash trees. The emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle from Asia, has spread through the state and across the Eastern Panhandle, and the WV Division of Forestry counts it among the invasive pests responsible for killing hundreds of millions of ash trees in North America. Berkeley, Jefferson, and Morgan Counties are full of ash: in fencerows, in woodlots, and standing over houses and driveways in older neighborhoods. Untreated ash rarely survives once the beetle finds it.
If one of them is standing on your property, this page explains why it deserves attention sooner rather than later. Questions about a specific tree: call (304) 381-6890 for a free assessment.
Is Your Tree an Ash?
Three checks separate ash from almost everything else in a Panhandle yard. Branches and buds come off the stem in matched pairs, directly opposite each other, which very few large local trees do. The leaves are compound: what looks like a branch of 5 to 9 separate leaves is one leaf made of leaflets along a central stalk. And mature ash bark forms tight, diamond-shaped ridges. On infested trees, add the beetle's calling cards: D-shaped exit holes about an eighth of an inch wide, vertical bark splits, heavy woodpecker stripping, and winding tunnels under loose bark.
The University of Maryland Extension's emerald ash borer guide has photos of each of these. If you are still unsure, call and describe what you see.
How the Beetle Kills a Tree
Adult emerald ash borers lay eggs on ash bark. The larvae bore in and feed just under the bark, carving winding tunnels through the layer the tree uses to move water and nutrients. Enough tunnels and the tree starves from the inside. University extension research notes that EAB kills even large, mature ash trees within about three years of infestation. Signs to look for: thinning in the top of the canopy, D-shaped exit holes about an eighth of an inch wide, vertical bark splits, heavy woodpecker activity that leaves pale patches of stripped bark, and clusters of new shoots sprouting from the trunk.
Why a Dead Ash Is Not a Wait-and-See Tree
Every dead tree becomes a hazard eventually. Ash killed by EAB gets there unusually fast. The larval tunneling that killed the tree also wrecks the wood's structure, so dead ash turns brittle and unpredictable in months, not years. It sheds large limbs without warning and fails in ways experienced climbers cannot predict.
The tree care industry treats EAB-killed ash as a special category of risk. Extension guidance is blunt: many tree companies will not put a climber in an ash that has been dead more than six months. Past that point the job requires a bucket truck or a crane, and the price climbs with the equipment. The practical takeaway for a homeowner: a dead ash removed early is a routine job. The same tree a year later is an expensive one, and two years later it may be dropping limbs on whatever is underneath it.
Can an Ash Tree Be Saved?
Sometimes. A healthy ash that has not been heavily attacked can be protected with systemic insecticide treatments applied by a licensed professional, repeated every one to three years for the life of the tree. That ongoing cost makes sense for a large, healthy tree in a prominent spot. It does not make sense for a tree that has already lost much of its canopy. A tree showing serious dieback is past saving, and the money is better spent on removal.
One More Thing: Leave the Firewood Home
EAB spreads slowly on its own and quickly in the back of a pickup. The federal quarantine on ash material ended in 2021, so moving firewood is no longer a legal issue in most places, but the USDA and state agencies still urge people not to move it, because firewood is how this beetle and other invasive pests jump between regions. If a removal leaves you with firewood, the responsible thing is to burn it where it fell.
Have an Ash Tree Looked At
If you have an ash on your property in Martinsburg or anywhere in the Eastern Panhandle, and it is showing dieback, bark damage, or is already bare, call (304) 381-6890. Describe the tree and what is under it, and you will get a straight answer about urgency and a free estimate for removal.