Do emerald ash borer die in winter? This is a good question as it gets to be winter. You may be wondering if your ash tree will be spared because of emerald ash borer die-off in the winter? The fact is emerald ash borer do not die in winter. They spend the season beneath the bark. Temperatures of minus 30 degrees will start to kill off a certain percentage of emerald ash borer but EAB is much more resilient than other insects and since it’s been about three decades since we’ve gotten anywhere close to minus 30 degrees, an emerald ash borer die-off is not in the cards. In fact, Denver’s record low temperature is minus 29 degrees last seen in 1875.