Evanston is known for its green spaces that community members enjoy daily. These great parks, the fun lakefront, and the nice trees are a beautiful backdrop for recreation and our daily tasks. The City manages these spaces and natural assets to ensure that they stay healthy and serve the community. In some cases, that means removing pests or unwanted plants or wildlife. 

News for the Week of August 8, 2022

The City will cut trees in the revetment along the lakefront and treat the stumps with Garlon 4 (active ingredient: triclopyr). Details:

• These trees are being removed because they are not compatible with the site.
• Garlon 4 will be painted onto each stump using a sponge. The product will not be sprayed.
• The areas treated will be behind the fence and not in places available to the community for recreation. 
• A blue dye will be added to the product. The blue color is not from the pesticide.

What are pests and why does the City remove them?

Pests can be any type of living being -- plant or animal -- that is not compatible with how a site is used. Common examples of pests are weeds, rodents, and some stinging insects. Sometimes these pests are native and living in the right environment, but it's interfering with what the people of Evanston need as a community. The City may intervene to manage their presence on public property. For example, City staff frequently get requests to remove hornet nests on tree branches over the sidewalk.

How does the City decide when it should remove pests?

The City evaluates a variety of factors before deciding whether to engage in pest removal, including:

• what the pest is, and how it is impacting the community
• the best process for removing the pest, and how that process may impact the community
• how to implement Integrated Pest Management practices

What is Integrated Pest Management?

Integrated Pest Management means using a variety of methods to achieve the safest removal, including preventing the pest in the first place. Prevention usually involves making the site a place where the pest won't want to survive because the environment isn't right. When prevention hasn't worked, the City may take proactive steps to remove either plants or animals that are unwanted in the community.

In practical terms, the safest way is to physically removing a pest, whether plant or animal. If physical removal isn't possible or doesn't work, the City may determine that using a chemical pesticide is necessary. All pesticide applications follow the City of Evanston Sustainable Pest Control and Pesticide Reduction Policy.

What is the Sustainable Pest Control and Pesticide Reduction Policy?

In 2010, the City passed Ordinance 20R-10 adopting the City of Evanston Sustainable Pest Control and Pesticide Reduction Policy. This Policy provides guidance for reducing the use of pesticides on City owned and managed property. The resolution aims to protect the community by banning the use of certain pesticides and encouraging management practices that deter and prevent pests. 

What about neonicotinoids?

Neonicotinoids are a type of pesticide that kill certain insects. Farmers often use them to treat their crops, because they are a powerful tool for agricultural pests. But, neonicotinoids are dangerous to pollinators -- bees, butterflies, etc. Pollinators are important insects that help with a variety of ecosystem functions: they are essentially responsible for ensuring that plants reproduce, including all of the crops that we eat. The City does not apply neonicotinoids and makes every effort to purchase trees and plants that have not been treated with these products. Pollinators are critical to our ecosystem and livelihoods.