THUNDER BAY -- The City of Thunder Bay plans to inject hundreds of trees in the urban forest with a biopesticide to protect them against the Emerald Ash Borer.
A request for bids from contractors is posted on the city's website.
The city's Forestry and Horticulture Section wants 850 selected trees to be treated this summer with a product called TreeAzin.
It's described by the distributor as a botanical injectable insecticide formulated with azadirachtin, an extract of neem tree seeds. It says TreeAzin provides up to two-year control of Emerald Ash Borer and other insect pests.
According to information on the company's website, TreeAzin is owned by the Canadian Forest Service and was developed in collaboration with BioForest, which holds its worldwide license.
The Emerald Ash Borer's presence in Thunder Bay was confirmed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency last year in trees near the intersection of Memorial Avenue and Fourth Avenue.
Ash trees comprise about 25 per cent of the city's urban forest.
The notice to contractors notes that the city's treatment program is managed by zone, with about half the ash trees to be identified for treatment each year. Injection holes in tree trunks are to be covered with grafting wax, and no discharge of chemical is permitted on the exterior of the trees.
Injections will begin in early July, with completion planned for the end of August. Information cards will be left with adjacent property-owners.
City officials expect to continue the pesticide treatment program next year.
