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 614-466-7754 ODA URL: www.ohioagriculture.gov • e-mail: agri@agri.ohio.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 19, 2004

Media Contact: Melissa Brewer, EAB Communications, 614-728-6404

Emerald Ash Borer Discovered in Two Additional Toledo Locations

REYNOLDSBURG – Ohio Department of 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 two new Toledo locations, one near the intersection of Hill Avenue and South Holland-Sylvania Road and the other near Secor Road and Interstate Highway 475. Ohio Department of Agriculture surveyors soon will begin scouting the northwest and southwest Toledo locations to determine the extent of the infestations.

“As we continue to find Emerald Ash Borer infestations in Toledo, it is now more apparent than ever that we're at the leading edge of this infestation,” Dailey said. “Our work in Toledo is going to be critical in containing and eradicating this pest. Emerald Ash Borer has killed millions of ash trees in southeast Michigan and it has the potential to do so in Ohio if we're not aggressive in our eradication efforts.”

In southwest Toledo, 12 infested trees were discovered near the intersection of Hill Avenue and South Holland-Sylvania Road. This infestation is about five miles southwest of the recently discovered Oatis Street infestation. Department officials also discovered an infested ash tree at the intersection of Secor Road and Interstate Highway 475, roughly two miles northwest of the Oatis Street infestation. Officials are treating both of the Emerald Ash Borer finds as “satellite infestations,” and until more survey work is complete will not know if this is related to the core infestation in Michigan.

To date, Emerald Ash Borer infestations have been identified in Defiance, Franklin, Fulton, Henry, Lucas, and Wood counties . The pest was first identified in Ohio in Lucas County in 2003.

Ash trees infested with the Emerald Ash Borer will typically die in three to five years. The pest 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 1/8 inch wide, and fly only from early May until September. Larvae spend the rest of the year beneath the bark of ash trees, and when they emerge as adults, leave D-shaped exit holes in the bark about 1/8 inch wide.

Citizens can help by reporting signs of Emerald Ash Borer to the Ohio Department of Agriculture Division of Plant Industry at 800-OHIO-EAB. They should also refrain from moving ash trees, ash lumber, or any firewood inside or beyond quarantined areas and should alert the department at 800-282-1955 if they receive such items from quarantined areas. For more information on detection and identification of Emerald Ash Borer, go to the Ohio Department of Agriculture's Web site, www.ohioagriculture.gov , and look under “Emerald Ash Borer.”

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