HARRISBURG – Emerald Ash Borer beetles have been found in Milford Township, Juniata County, bringing to 11 the number of Pennsylvania counties where the ash tree-destroying pest has been identified, acting Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said today.
In response to this latest discovery, Redding said a state-imposed quarantine is being expanded to include Juniata County. He reminded residents and visitors to use only locally harvested firewood, burn all of the firewood on-site, and not carry it to new locations.
“Thanks to the diligent work of our entomologists and staff in locating the infested areas, we are able to act quickly to establish these quarantines and work to slow the spread of the beetle,” said Redding. “The department also continues to work with loggers and lumber mills to limit the movement of potentially infested ash.”
The Juniata County infestation was discovered along Route 333 near the Mifflin County border when department entomologists noticed extensive tree damage due to woodpeckers. Woodpecker injury is a key indicator that trees may be infected with Emerald Ash Borer as the birds injure the trees while attempting to eat the beetle larvae.
State and federal Emerald Ash Borer quarantines restrict the movement from the quarantine area of ash nursery stock, green lumber and any other ash material, including logs, stumps, roots and branches, and all wood chips.
Due to the difficulty in distinguishing between species of hardwood firewood, all hardwood firewood and wood chips—including ash, oak, maple and hickory—are considered quarantined.
The invasive beetle was first detected in Pennsylvania in the summer of 2007 in Butler County, and subsequently was found in Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Indiana, Lawrence, Mercer, Mifflin, Washington and Westmoreland counties.
Emerald Ash Borer is a wood-boring beetle native to China and eastern Asia. The pest likely arrived in North America hidden in wood packing materials commonly used to ship consumer and other goods. It was first detected in July 2002 in southeastern Michigan and neighboring Windsor, Ontario, Canada. In addition to Pennsylvania, the beetle is attacking ash trees in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin, and is responsible for the death and decline of more than 40 million trees.
Typically, the beetles will kill an ash tree within three years of the initial infestation. Adults are dark green, one-half inch in length and one-eighth inch wide, and fly only from early May until September. Larvae spend the rest of the year beneath the bark of ash trees. When they emerge as adults, they leave D-shaped holes in the bark about one-eighth inch wide.
There is no known practical control for this wood-boring pest other than destroying infested trees.
People who suspect they have seen Emerald Ash Borer should call the department’s toll-free pest hotline at 1-866-253-7189. For more information about the quarantine, contact Walt Blosser at 717-772-5205, and for more information about Emerald Ash Borer, contact Sven-Erik Spichiger at 717-772-5229.
The national survey is being conducted in cooperation with U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the United States Forest Service and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Bureau of Forestry.