Vince Crockenberg, Contributor

Tree Warden Mark Dillenbeck and Deputy Tree Warden Alexa Lewis finish rigging an EAB trap in an ash tree near the Thompson’s Point clubhouse on Thompson’s Point Road last week.  Photo by Vince Crockenberg.

The bright green triangular boxes hanging from a dozen ash trees in Charlotte are designed to attract any emerald ash borers (EAB) in the neighborhood and give the town a heads-up that the borer has made its way into Charlotte’s ash trees. As the tags attached to the trees note, nearly all of Vermont’s 160 million trees could eventually be lost to the EAB, and early detection of the insect’s presence in Charlotte will help the town take action to remove diseased trees before they threaten public safety, increase town expenses and decrease property values.