Emerald ash borer on the move in Pa.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Emerald ash borer beetles have been found near Brownstown, Kiskiminetas Township, Armstrong County, and Finleyville, Union Township, Washington County, bringing to nine the number of counties where the ash tree-destroying pest has been identified.

Quarantine expanded

In response to this latest discovery, Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff said a state-imposed quarantine is being expanded to include Armstrong and Washington counties. 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.

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.

“Our survey crews are assessing the extent of the infestation in these two counties and surrounding areas,” said Wolff. “Due to the difficulty in distinguishing between species of hardwood firewood, all hardwood firewood — including ash, oak, maple and hickory — are considered quarantined.”

Started in 2007

The invasive beetle was first detected in Pennsylvania in the summer of 2007 in Butler County, and subsequently was found in Allegheny, Beaver, Lawrence, Mercer, Mifflin and Westmoreland counties.

This summer, 20 crews — 15 in western Pennsylvania, one in Mifflin County, and four in the eastern part of the state — and two regional coordinators have been deployed to assess the spread of the beetle.

Crews in Armstrong and Washington counties recovered emerald ash borer beetles from the purple panel traps deployed as part of the national survey to assess the spread.

Path of destruction

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.

The beetle has since been blamed for the death and decline of more than 20 million ash trees in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Maryland, Virginia and Illinois.

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.

There is no known practical control for this wood-boring pest other than destroying infested trees.

Call for details

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.