Important COVID-19 Updates
- Dutch elm disease surveys and emerald ash borer monitoring will be moving forward again this season in participating communities.
- Provincial surveyors will be driving or walking around both public and private properties while they work.
- Surveyors wear high visibility vests and government issued identification. This year, staff may also be wearing masks or other personal protective equipment (PPE), due to COVID-19.
- In support of physical distancing measures, our staff may not approach every resident or house before entering onto properties to conduct surveys.
- Surveyors will still ring doorbells or knock on doors prior to taking branch samples, marking trees, or identifying firewood piles for removal.
- Our staff will always maintain at least two metres distance between themselves and others, and we ask that residents respect this policy when approaching our staff as well.
To download the public notice from the Province of Manitoba, Agriculture and Resource Development, click here.
Dutch Elm Disease Management Program
The RM of St. Clements participates in the provincial Dutch Elm Disease Management Program. In this partnership, provincial inspectors locate and tag diseased trees/wood, they provide the RM with a list of the trees and their locations and then the RM hires a contractor to remove them. The contractors begin removing trees typically in October, with them having until February to finish removal. You will be contacted by the contractor directly if they require access to your property. Learn more about the Dutch Elm Disease Management Program on the provincial website.
If you suspect that you have a tree or fire wood with Dutch Elm disease, call the Provincial Tree Line at 204-945-7866 or contact them via email at treeline@gov.mb.ca.
What is Dutch Elm Disease?
It is an aggressive fungal disease that blocks water movement in Elm trees and eventually leads to death of the entire tree. In Manitoba, the spores of Dutch Elm disease are usually spread by native Elm bark beetles. The native American Elm is most susceptible to Dutch Elm disease.
I have heard I should basal spray my tree. What is basal spraying and how do I do it?
Basal spraying refers to spraying the bottom half metre of the trunk of all your elm trees with an insecticide containing “chlorpyrifos”. This prevents the overwintering of elm bark beetles, which may be carrying Dutch elm disease fungal spores. A 0.5% chlorpyrifos solution should be thoroughly sprayed into the cracks and crevices and around the root flares. Apply any time during August or early September and reapply every two years.
What else can be done to protect our elm trees?
Prompt detection and removal of diseased elms is an important step of any Dutch elm disease management program. Promptly removing and disposing of elms dying from Dutch elm disease is the key to effectively managing Dutch elm disease on a community-wide basis. Removed elms need to either have their bark removed, be chipped, burned or buried.
Learn more about Dutch Elm disease: