Ash tree removal in Murfreesboro — before the emerald ash borer finishes the job
If your ash is thinning at the top, the bark is going pale where woodpeckers have worked it, and there are D-shaped holes in the trunk, it's not coming back. The question is whether it comes down on your schedule or the wind's.
Emerald ash borer was confirmed in Middle Tennessee in the summer of 2020, and the City of Murfreesboro had already been removing declining ash from public property for years in anticipation. Six years on, the wave has run through Rutherford County: the green ash planted as street trees in the 1990s subdivisions, the white ash in the older neighborhoods and along the creeks, the volunteer ash on every fence line. The larvae tunnel S-shaped galleries under the bark and cut off the tree's water supply; the crown thins from the top down, woodpeckers strip the bark hunting larvae, sprouts push out of the trunk, and within two to four years of the first symptoms the tree is dead.
A dead ash is a different removal from a dead oak. Ash wood gets brittle fast once the tree dies — limbs snap under a climber's weight, the trunk can shatter when it's cut — so we take EAB-killed ash down with a bucket truck or a crane, never a climber, and the price climbs the longer a dead ash stands. If your ash is still mostly green and less than a third of the crown is gone, trunk-injected treatment every two years can keep it alive; we'll tell you honestly whether yours is a candidate or whether that money is better spent on the removal and a replacement.
What's included
EAB diagnosis
Crown thinning, bark blonding, D-shaped exit holes, epicormic sprouts and galleries confirmed before anything is quoted.
Treat-or-remove call
Honest advice on whether trunk injection makes sense for a still-healthy ash, or whether it's past that.
Bucket & crane removals
Brittle dead ash taken down without putting a climber in it.
Multiple-tree pricing
Rows of dead street ash and back-line ash priced as a group with one setup.
Stump grinding
Ash stumps ground below grade so you can replant with something the borer won't eat.
Replacement advice
Natives that thrive in limestone soil — chinkapin oak, shumard oak, blackgum, yellowwood — instead of another Bradford pear.
Ash tree removal cost in Murfreesboro
| Job | Typical price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dead ash, small (under 30 ft), open access | $400 – $900 | Bucket truck |
| Dead ash, medium (30–50 ft) near a structure | $900 – $2,200 | Bucket or crane |
| Dead ash, large (50–80 ft) over a house | $2,200 – $5,500 | Crane |
| Row of dead street ash (3+) | $700 – $1,600 each | Shared setup |
| Trunk injection treatment, healthy ash | $10 – $14 per inch of trunk diameter | Every two years |
| Ash stump grinding | $3 – $5 per inch | Minimum $125 |
These are 2026 Rutherford County ranges so you can budget. Your written price is itemized — removal, rigging or crane, hauling, stump grinding, any paperwork — and good for 30 days.
Recent work
Questions we get about ash tree removal (eab)
Is every ash in Murfreesboro going to die?
Untreated, essentially yes. EAB kills more than 99 percent of the ash it reaches, and it has reached all of Rutherford County. The only ash that survive are the ones treated on a schedule before they were badly infested.
Can my ash still be saved?
If it still has more than about two-thirds of its crown and you're willing to treat it every two years for the rest of its life, usually. Below half a crown, no — the tree can't move enough of the insecticide to matter. Our arborist will tell you which side of the line yours is on.
Why is a dead ash more expensive to remove than a live one?
Because it can't be climbed. Dead ash wood loses its strength within a year or two, so the tree has to come down from a bucket or with a crane, and a badly deteriorated one has to be picked in smaller, more careful pieces. Removing an ash the year it dies is cheaper than removing it three years later.
Do I have to remove a dead ash?
On your own lot, the city doesn't require it — unless it's a hazard to the street or the sidewalk, in which case Chapter 32.5 lets the city declare it a nuisance and require you to abate it. Practically, a dead ash over a house, a driveway or a neighbor's fence is a liability you don't want to carry through another storm season.
Can I burn the wood?
Yes — ash is good firewood, and burning it locally is fine. Don't haul it to another county; moving ash wood is how the borer spread across Tennessee in the first place.