04-30-2009
Ash Borer Trapping to Begin Soon; Victory Infestation Grows

MADISON - Surveyors with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) will hang thousands of traps in trees across the state to track the spread of the tree-killing emerald ash borer. The purple contraptions utilize a special scent and are coated with a sticky substance that traps the beetles when they land on them.

Beginning as early as next week, DATCP survey staff will start to hang approximately 8,000 traps. The season, including trap inspections and take-down, will continue through the end of August. Wisconsin's survey effort is part of a national survey funded by a cooperative agreement with the US Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS).

"Wisconsin now has two known infestations of emerald ash borer (EAB)," said Jennifer Statz, EAB program manager with the agriculture agency. "The traps we deploy this summer will help us get a better idea of the size of those infestations and, possibly, if there are other areas in the state where the ash borer has arrived."

Last August, officials confirmed that the voracious pest was located in southeast Wisconsin in and near the Village of Newburg. This spring, EAB was discovered in western Wisconsin, along the Mississippi River in the Vernon County community of Victory.

"In Newburg, our winter survey revealed that the infestation covers at least eight square miles around the community. We'll use the traps to determine if the beetles are actually more widespread than that," Statz said. "And around Victory, the traps will be our first major attempt to gauge the extent of that infestation."

Visual surveys conducted by DATCP staff earlier this month turned up evidence of EAB three miles south of Victory and two miles to the north, in trees along the Mississippi River. Infested trees were also identified roughly 1.5 miles east of the river.

The emerald ash borer kills ash trees when its larvae tunnel through the soft wood that supplies the tree with water and nutrients. Large, healthy trees can succumb to EAB usually within three to five years. But the signs of an infestation in a tree can be very subtle at first, and it's commonly too late to save the tree once its determined that EAB is the cause of the problem.

To try to slow the spread of EAB in Wisconsin, the state has banned the movement of all hardwood firewood, ash logs and other products from quarantined areas that could move the pest undetected into new, non-infested areas.

"Businesses that deal with these products have been contacted and informed of the quarantine and the importance of not moving regulated items that could spread EAB if not properly treated," said Bob Dahl, regulatory chief with DATCP. "By and large, they all want to do the right thing."

Roadside firewood sales and firewood shared among friends and family from private property remain the greatest concern regarding the spread of EAB.

"We'll always be chasing down new infestations as long as people keep moving infested firewood," Dahl concluded.

EAB was discovered near Detroit in 2002, likely arriving in North America accidently transported in wooden shipping crates from China. They've destroyed millions of trees already and have been found in nine other states and in two Canadian provinces.

A partnership of state and federal agencies including DATCP, USDA APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources continues to survey infested areas in Wisconsin and other parts of the state for the destructive forest pest. The University of Wisconsin-Madison, the UW Extension and the USDA Forest Service are also partners in evaluating management options and in outreach to residents and local units of government.

Wisconsin is also working closely with state and federal partners in Minnesota and Iowa to coordinate survey and outreach efforts regarding the infestation in the Victory area.


-30-

Return to Previous Page  Back to Search Results