Wooly Hemlock Adelgid (NYS DEC)
The Wooly Hemlock Adelgid is threatening the Village of Lakewood‘s Hemlock trees.
Resident Mary Seger, who lives by Ivy Lane and Winchester Road, spoke before the Village Board about receiving a call from another resident concerned about the trees, “When you know what to look for, you can see these little white dots, usually on the underside, but they’ll be on the top also of Eastern Hemlocks which are all over this village as you know.”
Seger said the presence of the pest was confirmed by the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy. She said local company, Forecon, did inform her that the trees can be treated, “They can (be) effectively treated by injections or by sprays. It costs approximately $200-$300 for a good-sized tree, good for five years.”
Native to Asia, the hemlock woolly adelgid, or HWA, is an invasive, aphid-like insect that attacks North American hemlocks.
Seger requested the Village look at creating a plan or have information available for residents who are looking at how to treat the pest on their properties.
According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, wooly hemlock adelgid can be contained using biological controls in the form of natural predators or through chemical pesticides.
More information can be found here: https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7250.html
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