OHIO
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 15, 2003
Media Contact: Melanie Wilt, ODA Communications, 614-752-9817
Emerald
Ash Borer Discovered in Defiance County;
State Ag Director Seeks Quarantine
REYNOLDSBURG – Ohio
Agriculture Director Fred Dailey today announced that Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus
planipennis), a destructive exotic pest from Asia, has been identified in
ash trees in Hicksville in Defiance County, including at a wholesale landscape
nursery and at a tool handle manufacturer. Dailey will seek an emergency
quarantine to restrict ash trees, firewood, branches, and logs from movement off
affected properties.
“We will work
aggressively to prevent Emerald Ash Borer from taking hold in Ohio and elsewhere
and causing damage like in Michigan,” Dailey said. “I have initiated steps
to quarantine the state and have asked for additional federal funding to
accomplish this goal. The quarantine will allow us to regulate areas with known
infestations in order to prevent further spread.”
Ohio Department of Agriculture
officials collected Emerald Ash Borer adults from trees on one property in
Hicksville on August 7 after they received a call from a nursery owner
indicating they suspected a problem. The sample was positively identified as
Emerald Ash Borer on August 13.
Survey workers have identified
borer damage on at least eight properties and will continue to look for affected
properties in the area. Indiana officials are conducting a similar search across
the state line just three miles west of Hicksville.
The Emerald Ash Borer belongs
to a group of insects known as metallic wood-boring beetles. Adults are dark
metallic green in color, 1/2 inch in length and 1/16 inch wide, and present only
from mid May until early August.
Citizens can help by reporting
signs of Emerald Ash Borer to the Ohio Department of Agriculture Division of
Plant Industry at 800-282-1955. They should also refrain from moving ash trees,
lumber, or firewood inside or beyond the borders of Defiance County and alert
the department at 800-282-1955 if they receive such items from Defiance County.
More information on detection
and identification is available at the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s web
site at www.state.oh.us/agr.
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More information on the
Emerald Ash Borer, pictures of the pest and its destruction are available at:
www.state.oh.us/agr
or www.ohioagriculture.gov