Penn State To Spray Elm Trees This Morning

Penn State crews will spray University Park elm trees with an anti-disease application Wednesday night and into Thursday morning, the university announced.

The spraying, meant to prevent Dutch elm disease, is part of an ongoing program to preserve the ‘arboreal cover’ on campus, spokesman Paul Ruskin said. 

‘Without the spray program, all of our elms would disappear in about five years,’ he said. ‘It’s necessary.’

He said the spray itself, a synthetic insecticide known as Astro, has a chemical composition nearly identical to head-lice remedies used on grade-school kids. Its listed active ingredient is permethrin.

‘It should not be of any concern,’ Ruskin said. ‘If you happen to be sprayed by accident if a helicopter passes over, just wash it off. It’s not a harmful substance.’

Spraying from the ground will begin Wednesday evening, with spraying by helicopter to follow at sunrise Thursday. It should be complete by 7 a.m., Ruskin said.

University Park lost 47 elms last year and has lost about 10 elms this year, according to Penn State data. About 200 elm trees remain on campus.

Ruskin said the university is hopeful that the anti-Dutch-elm spray will also help prevent elm yellows, a relatively new elm disease in the area.

‘If people see a helicopter around campus, it’s not a return to Vietnam,’ he said. ‘It’s simply taking good care of our trees.’

Earlier coverage: Penn State, State College Elms Withstand Lethal Tree Disease