This week, I’ve decided to take an excerpt from our UNL Extension Hort Update on a pest I receive questions about from time to time – the emerald ash borer. I highly encourage you to subscribe to this update if you are a horticultural enthusiast!
By now many homeowners have heard of emerald ash borer (EAB) and are concerned about their ash trees. Now EAB is found in 22 states from Massachusetts south to Georgia, and west to Minnesota and Missouri. Closest to home, EAB was confirmed in Missouri 2008, Iowa 2010, Kansas 2012 and Colorado 2013. The nearest confirmed sites are Kansas City, MO, Boulder, CO and Creston, IA. It is inevitable that EAB will eventually make its way into Nebraska, probably within the next few years.
Now federal Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) quarantines apply to all of Iowa and Missouri. In Colorado, Boulder County and portions of Jefferson, Larimer, and Weld Counties are quarantined. This means interstate movement of EAB-host wood and wood products are regulated, including firewood of all hardwood species, nursery stock, green lumber, waste, compost, and chips of ash species.
Below are recommendations from the Nebraska Forest Service and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension:
- Treatment is recommended when EAB is known to be within 15 miles of a location.
- Treating trees beyond 15 miles will likely provide little or no benefit to the trees and will result in unnecessary exposure of the environment to pesticides.
- State and federal agencies monitor EAB infestations and will provide updates on infestations in Nebraska.
Visit the Nebraska Forest Service for information about when to begin treatments.
For people concerned EAB might already be here, but has gone undetected, it is important to know that trees already infested with EAB are treatable if the damage is not yet severe.
(Source: UNL Extension HortUpdate)
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