NEWS RELEASE l Ohio Department of Agriculture
Governor Bob Taft Lieutenant Governor Jennette B. Bradley Director Fred L. Dailey		Communications Office 8995 East Main Street • Reynoldsburg, Ohio 43068 Phone: 614-752-9817 • Fax 614-466-4346 ODA URL: www.ohioagriculture.gov • e-mail: agri@odant.agri.state.oh.us

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 1, 2003

Media Contact: Melanie Wilt, ODA Communications, 614-752-9817

Emerald Ash Borer Discovered in Franklin County;
Director Quarantines Property

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 Columbus. Dailey has issued a quarantine on the property to restrict movement of ash trees, firewood, branches, and logs from the affected property.

Agriculture officials found the infested ash trees during a routine follow-up inspection of young ash trees shipped from a Michigan nursery to a Columbus landscaper. The trees were planted in 2001 at 4490 Sunbury Rd. in the Easton area. At least eight of the trees showed the telltale d-shaped exit holes of the Emerald Ash Borer and two revealed tunneling under the bark. An ODA plant pest specialist found live larvae in the bark of one tree, which was identified as Emerald Ash Borer last week.

To determine if the pest has spread from the landscaping trees to other trees in the area, survey workers will look for ash trees and check for signs of infestation in the area to determine the appropriate course of action. The first Ohio infestation of Emerald Ash Borer was eradicated from Whitehouse in April. It appears the first eradication was successful, though officials will not be sure until next spring when the beetle would have completed an entire life cycle.

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 1-888-OHIO-EAB. They should also refrain from moving ash trees, lumber, or firewood inside or beyond the quarantined areas and alert the department if they receive such items.
 

More information on detection and identification is available at the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s web site at www.ohioagriculture.gov and click on “Emerald Ash Borer.”

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Note to Editor: See “FACT SHEET: Emerald Ash Borer in Ohio” and get more information on the Emerald Ash Borer, pictures of the pest and its destruction at: www.ohioagriculture.gov.

A media availability will be held at 4490 Sunbury Rd., Columbus, at 2 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 1.