Landscape Management, April 2012
ADD ONBIZ borer to the time its totally killed off he says That will happen to every ash tree in the area that hasnt been treated Once the ash trees are gone or have been treated there will no longer be a food source for the emerald ash borer and they wont be able to survive Though theres still a lot of time for me to do this there will come a point where the service is no longer needed By then Taflinger hopes to have gained enough knowledge and education to be a full blown tree doctor Currently if hes called out to a job that is out of his realm he calls in a specialist His only focus is emerald ash borer But even though hes not treating trees for other diseases he says hes learning more every day I might refer the client to a tree doctor but Ill still do the research so Ill have the experience to eventually do these diagnoses myself he says Id love to become a consultant and be able to offer a full range of treatment services While his niche requires specialized LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET APRIL 2012 44 knowledge Taflinger says any business willing to invest in education can successfully add a tree injection service Even though Ive made it my main focus it does make a good side business Taflinger says But the biggest mistake those who are new to the business will make is misidentification A lot of these conditions look alike Good treatments are not cheap The client is investing a lot of money Theyll know if you misdiagnosed it when the tree dies Taflinger suggests starting with just one treatment technician and seeing how it goes My best advice is to get educated he says I would recommend about 50 to 100 hours of education Thats what makes my business a success Anyone can buy the equipment but if you cant answer your customers questions youre not going to get the job The author is a freelance writer with six years of experience covering landscaping SERVICE SNAPSHOT Company IndyAsh Headquarters Indianapolis IN WHy foCus on emerald asH Borer treatments A passion and a need WHat kind of investment is needed Someone starting out would need to invest in the IV equipment and a cordless drill so youre looking at about 2000 for all of that The most expensive part is the chemical but thats purchased on an as needed basis Biggest risk If you misdiagnose or the treatment doesnt work the customers tree is dead otHer CHallenges People are skeptical when they dont understand something because they have to totally trust you And treatment is not cheap
You must have JavaScript enabled to view digital editions.
