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Emerald ash borer infects Wisconsin, residents informed
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| By: Sarah Lideen |
June 10, 2009 |
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Woodland Owners Association member Jim Lenbom shows an ash tree that displays signs of sickness. Although the emerald ash borer has yet to come to the area, he is concerned that someday Barron County will become infested.
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Emerald ash borer is a small, metallic green beetle that is eating away at Wisconsin's ash trees.
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First discovered in Michigan in 2002, the insect lays larvae under the bark of a tree, which disrupts the nutrients between the trees roots and its canopy, eventually killing the tree.
Already sick trees are mostly at risk, but healthy trees can also become infected.
Counties in Wisconsin that are currently affected by this infestation and are undergoing quarantine include: Vernon, Crawford, Ozaukee, Washington, Fond du Lac and Sheboygan.
Surrounding states, Minnesota and Michigan, are under a statewide quarantine, while the northeastern counties of Illinois are restricted. No firewood should be moved from these areas.
If traveling with firewood is necessary through any of the quarantined areas, stopping is not recommended unless for refueling, which should be done quickly as to reduce the chance of spreading EAB.
"These kinds of regulations go a long way to help ensure that people using local or county facilities are not bringing in firewood from long distances," says Michael Skwarok, a Wisconsin Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection ash borer outreach specialist.
The beetle can fly up to a half mile away, six miles in a 24-hour period, and typically lays 60-90 eggs in every tree. The eggs hatch into larvae in late summer and are adults by spring, where the cycle is repeated. Anyone caught transferring firewood from quarantined areas will have the wood confiscated and face federal fines up to $1,000.
There are no current restrictions on using firewood in Barron County parks or campgrounds, but John Cisek of the Chippewa Valley Forest and Recreation Administration says that there is a resolution undergoing consideration.
Campers are allowed to use scrap lumber at the discretion of park staff. If the wood was not imported from an EAB quarantined or infected county, there are no restrictions for local businesses who sell wood.
"If the manufacturer has a compliance agreement with the state or the federal government, they could legally move firewood out of the quarantine," says Skwarok.
State and federal officials are currently working on new ways to prevent this bug from spreading and detecting it, but for now there are things that the general public can do:
* Purchase firewood within 50 miles of a state forest, park or other state-managed property.
* Purchase firewood locally.
* Burn wood in the area it was purchased in.
* Don't bring firewood back after a trip.
* Inspect firewood for infestation.
* Buy wood that has loose or no bark, a sign that it is dry and cannot be infected.
* Treat already infested trees.
* Know the signs.
Trees infected with EAB typically show signs of splitting bark. An adult beetle leaves a small D-shaped exit hole on the tree less than six feet from the ground and displays an odd-shaped S pattern of larvae along the trunk.
Woodpeckers feed on EAB larvae, and an increase in woodpecker activity could be a sign of infestation.
Treating a tree with less than 50 percent of its canopy remaining would be purposeless. Trees that show 20-40 percent die-back, however, can still be saved.
Insecticides for homeowners to treat their trees with need to be used on an annual basis. Failing to administer even one treatment could be deadly to the tree. Without treatment, a small tree can die within one to two years, while a larger tree may take up to three or four. In severe cases, a tree can die in as little as one year. Tree care professionals can also treat these infestations.
If an infested tree is seen, call the local county extension office at (800) 462-2803, or if in doubt a tree is infested, visit www.emeraldashborer.wi.gov.
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©The Chetek Alert 2010
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