OHIO
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 28, 2003
Media Contact: Melanie Wilt, ODA Communications, 614-752-9817/ cell phone,
614-419-0152
Exotic
Pest Confirmed in Ohio Ash Trees: State Task Force Formed to Determine Course of
Action
REYNOLDSBURG – Ohio
Department of Agriculture (ODA) and federal officials announced today the
confirmation of Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis), an exotic pest
from Asia, in ash trees in Lucas County. The department has established a Task
Force – made up of experts and officials from ODA, USDA, U.S. Forest Service,
Ohio Department of Natural Resources, and Ohio State University Extension – to
evaluate the problem and determine a course of action to control the spread of
the pest in Ohio.
“A typical ash tree
will die from infestation by this pest in two to three years,” Ohio
Agriculture Director Fred Dailey said. “We are working with homeowners and
other experts at the state, federal, and local levels to identify the best ways
to prevent the spread of this pest and minimize the impact on the state’s
timber and nursery and landscape industries.”
The Emerald Ash Borer larvae,
which was collected from a Whitehouse residence in Swanton Township near Toledo,
was positively identified by experts at the USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection
Services Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland on Wednesday. (Experts had believed
until now that the pest could not be confirmed until it emerged into its adult
stage.) On Thursday, a U.S. Forest Service entomologist confirmed the identity
of an adult Emerald Ash Borer from the same location after having it
artificially hatch.
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 are present
only from mid May until late July. Larvae are creamy white in color.
Surveys of the area
around the originally reported site found signs of the pest on four properties
(three residences) in a 300 yard by 300 yard area. Trees on all of the
properties showed 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
some varieties of horticultural ash. Some healthy, non-stressed trees can fight
off the pest, but Emerald Ash Borer infestations are fatal in most cases.
The state is authorized by Ohio
Revised Code Section 927.71 to issue a quarantine on the movement of all ash
trees and timber in a given area. Such a quarantine could be issued for Lucas
County under which ash trees, firewood, branches, and logs would be restricted
from movement out of the county or a section of the county unless released by
the Ohio Department of Agriculture. This action will be taken after the area has
been surveyed to determine the extent of the problem and before spring when the
adults will hatch and spread to other trees and 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 Ohio Department of Natural Resources estimates that there are 3.8 billion ash trees in Ohio. A significant portion of these exist as a major component of one of several forest types on 850,000 acres of the state's nearly 8 million acres of woodlands. Ash wood is commonly used to make tool handles and baseball bats.
The Emerald Ash Borer has been
known to exist in North America (Michigan and Ontario) for about the last five
years, where it has killed millions of ash trees.
There is no practical
insecticide treatment that will destroy this pest, according to ODA Plant Pest
Control manager Tom Harrison. “Nothing will give us the assurance of control
in an infested area except to cut, chip, and properly dispose of trees,” he
said.
Citizens can help by reporting
signs of Emerald Ash Borer to their local OSU Extension agent or the Ohio
Department of Agriculture Division of Plant Industry at 800-282-1955; refrain
from moving ash trees, lumber, or firewood inside or beyond the borders of Lucas
County; and by alerting the Ohio Department of Agriculture at 800-282-1955 if
they receive such items from Lucas County.
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Note to Editor: A media availability will be held at a time to be announced
next week. Please call Melanie Wilt, 614-752-9811, for more details.
More information on the
Emerald Ash Borer, pictures of the pest and its destruction are available at:
Ohio
Department of Agriculture
USDA
Forest Service Emerald Ash Borer
Ohio
Department of Natural Resources, Tree Index
Michigan
Department of Agriculture, search for “Emerald Ash Borer”
Anderson’s Ohio Revised Code, search for Section 927.71