EAB has spread to Pennsylvania

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Emerald Ash Borer, an invasive beetle that destroys ash trees, has been detected for the first time in Pennsylvania and a quarantine will be imposed for Butler, Lawrence, Allegheny and Beaver counties.
Adult beetles were found on an ash tree in Cranberry Township, Butler County, by U.S. Department of Agriculture surveyors.
Quarantines. The emerald ash borer has forced similar quarantines in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Maryland and Michigan.
State and federal officials are conducting intensive surveys for the insect near the detection site. The quarantine is designed to help slow the spread of the beetle.
Pennsylvania’s quarantine restricts 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 – including ash, oak, maple and hickory – are considered quarantined.
Since many species of wood-boring insects can be spread through transport of infested firewood and logs, campers and homeowners are encouraged to use only locally harvested firewood; burn all of it on-site; and not carry it to new locations.
What they are. Adult borers 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, and when they emerge as adults, leave D-shaped holes in the bark about one-eighth inch wide.
People who suspect they have seen emerald ash borer should call the department’s pest hotline at 866-253-7189.
For more information, visit www.emeraldashborer.info/
or call 717-772-5229.