OHIO DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS
NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 11, 2003
Media Contact: Melanie Wilt, ODA Communications, 614-752-9817 

State Action to Eradicate Emerald Ash Borer Could Begin Next Week 

REYNOLDSBURG – As soon as Tuesday, the Ohio Department of Agriculture could begin to cut, chip, and remove ash trees from properties on and near Berkey-Southern Road near Whitehouse in Lucas County in efforts to eradicate the destructive Emerald Ash Borer insect from Ohio.  

The work will be initiated when a pending agreement between the department and the tree removal contractor is finalized.  

The department has made every effort to contact each affected property owner in the area informing them of the action taken under the department’s authority in state law (Ohio Revised Code Section 927.70) to control, eradicate, and prevent the spread of the invasive ash tree pest that was confirmed in February on the first of five Swanton Township properties known to be infested. State regulations are in place to control and prevent the spread of a number of invasive species and plant diseases to protect the health of Ohio’s plants and prevent massive economic losses to the nursery, timber, and tourism industries and the communities they serve. 

“We must eliminate this pest as quickly as possible before it can hatch into its adult stage in May and spreads,” Ohio Agriculture Director Fred L. Dailey said. “We will also make this as painless as possible for the residents who are sacrificing their trees to prevent this from affecting others.” 

Twenty-three properties on Berkey-Southern Rd., Reed Rd., and Oak River Rd. will have ash trees removed. They were recently quarantined (restricted from moving any trees, branches, firewood, or wood chips.) About half of the properties in the near vicinity have no ash trees. In all, nearly 3,800 ash trees, most of which are less than six inches in diameter, are targeted for removal.  

Property owners who have specific questions about their properties or ash trees are encouraged to call the department at 614-728-6400. 

Other properties farther from the infestation will be treated at the state’s expense with imidacloprid, an insecticide that is injected into the ground for uptake by the trees’ roots and has been effective in experiments in preventing new infestations. That treatment will be used to protect about 100 trees, and is slated to begin later this month. There is no practical insecticide treatment for trees already infested.

Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) is an invasive species from Asia that belongs to a group of insects known as metallic wood-boring beetles. Adults are dark metallic green in color, ½ inch in length and 1/16 inch wide, and are present from mid May until late July. Larvae are creamy white in color and invade and damage the tree the rest of the year. It will typically kill an ash tree within three years. 

Trees with Emerald Ash Borer show similar symptoms of infestation – die-back on the upper third of the tree, D-shaped exit holes in the bark where adults emerge, vertical splits in the bark, and distinct serpentine-shaped tunnels beneath the bark in the cambium, where larvae effectively cut off food and water to the tree, starving it to death. The borer is known to affect white, black, and green ash trees and all varieties of horticultural ash.

The Emerald Ash Borer is thought to have existed in North America for about the last five years. Its first confirmation came last summer in Michigan, where it is estimated to have destroyed over a million ash trees to date. Billions of ash trees are at risk in Ohio and the rest of the United States. 

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