OHIO DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS
NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 6, 2003
Media Contact: Melanie Wilt, ODA Communications, 614-752-9817 

Controlling Board Approves Spending of Federal Dollars to Control Emerald
Ash Borer: State Completes Treatment in Lucas County, Continues Survey Work 

REYNOLDSBURG – The State Controlling Board on Monday approved about $250,000 in spending by the Ohio Department of Agriculture to eradicate the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) insect from Ohio. At the same time, USDA’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service committed $300,000 in an announcement yesterday for EAB survey and eradication efforts in Ohio. The federal money will reimburse the expenses approved by the Controlling Board and allow Ohio to cover expenses incurred while surveying Lucas County and the surrounding area for EAB.  

In total, the USDA earmarked $14.55 million yesterday to fight the pest in Ohio and Michigan, the only states with EAB infestations. Michigan, where six counties are infested and which has already lost more than 1 million ash trees to the pest, received about $9 million for survey and eradication measures. About $3 million was earmarked for tree restoration, public outreach, and forest health monitoring by the U.S. Forest Service in the two states. The remainder of funds will be used for cooperative activities, such as surveillance and methods development, around infested regions. 

“The spot infestation that we found in Lucas County is small compared to the destruction in Michigan, and I’d like to keep it that way,” Ohio Agriculture Director Fred Dailey said. “We have quickly completed an eradication plan that should prevent wide-spread loss. We will continue to survey the area to determine if our efforts worked.”  

Last month, the Ohio Department of Agriculture cut, chipped, and removed about 4,000 ash trees from 23 properties on and near Berkey-Southern Road near Whitehouse in Lucas County in efforts to eradicate the insect from Ohio. About 100 ash trees on other properties farther from the infestation were treated with imidacloprid, an insecticide injected into the tree that has been effective in experiments in preventing new infestations.  

Survey work consists of checking the properties for adult beetles, looking for signs of new infestations, and checking sites in response to citizens’ calls. So far, departmental surveys have shown that this was an isolated problem. However, everyone is encouraged to report potential infestations to ODA’s Plant Pest Section at 614-728-6400, and is asked not to move host tree materials from quarantined areas. 

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. 

The 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. Billions of ash trees are at risk in Ohio and the rest of the United States. 

Ash wood is used for all traditional applications of hardwood from flooring and cabinets to baseball bats. According to a 1996 Ohio State University study, the nursery and horticulture industries, and the wood, paper, and furniture manufacturing industries contribute a combined $12.6 billion to the state’s economy. 

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