Ash wood quarantined in Delaware County

Emerald Ash Borer found in Delaware County

Photo provided by University of Arkansas Extension Service The emerald ash borer has been found in Delaware County, Okla. Ash wood products are quarantined from coming out of the county because of the destructive pest.
Photo provided by University of Arkansas Extension Service The emerald ash borer has been found in Delaware County, Okla. Ash wood products are quarantined from coming out of the county because of the destructive pest.

The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry is quarantining all movement of ash wood products, including firewood, from Delaware County, Okla., due to a destructive pest that could spread to other areas.

The emerald ash borer, a wood boring beetle that has caused the loss of tens of millions of ash trees across the country, was recently discovered in Delaware County, according to a press release from the Oklahoma Forestry Services. The beetle was found in a survey trap set by the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.

"With a number of our neighboring states already dealing with the pest, we knew it was a matter of time before emerald ash borer appeared in Oklahoma," said George Geissler, director of Oklahoma Forestry Services. "We want to make Oklahomans aware of the issue and available options and resources for dealing with this pest."

Neal Mays, Benton County extension agent, said that to his knowledge the emerald ash borer has not yet been found in Benton County. The pest has been found in 12 counties in Arkansas, and 33 Arkansas counties are under quarantine as a precaution, he said. Most of those counties are in the southern part of the state, except for six counties in northeast Arkansas. The beetle is also known to exist in Missouri.

"We don't know whether it's here or not," Mays said. "It's not been identified in Benton County, but it's certainly possible it's here.

The pest lives under the bark and doesn't travel far from its host on it's own, Mays said. Instead it is spread when ash wood products are physically moved. The most likely way for the beetle to be transported is in firewood, but it can also travel in wood that has been sawed into lumber but not kiln dried or landscaping plant material, he said.

The emerald ash borer only affects ash trees or trees in the ash family, Mays said. The most common species of ash trees in the Ozarks are green ash and white ash, he said. Both types of trees are valuable trees and can be used for timber and landscaping.

"Individual trees can be treated," Mays said. "It's possible if someone had a valuable tree it could be treated, but there is no way to treat the timber in the forest so preventing the beetle from coming into the area is the most realistic management strategy."

Mays said that Benton County residents take care not to buy firewood that comes out of Delaware County, noting that Delaware County residents should not be selling firewood under the quarantine. Other products that should be avoided include green lumber or logs, nursery stock and mulch, he said.

The emerald ash borer originated in Asia and probably arrived in the United States on solid wood packing material carried on a cargo ship or airplane, according to the Oklahoma Forestry Service press release. It was discovered in southeastern Michigan in 2002 and since has spread to more than 25 states and Canada.

According to the agency, signs of the emerald ash borer include the following:

• The adult emerald ash borer is a metallic emerald green color about a half inch long. They are difficult to detect.

• Larva are cream colored and distinctly segmented. They are easy to spot by peeling back loose ash tree bark.

• S-shaped galleries -- Often after the larvae have matured and excited the tree, distinctive s-shaped galleries are left under the bark.

• D-shaped very small holes are left in the tree.

• Crown decline -- the top third of the tree typically dies first, then progresses down the tree.

• Multiple trees -- infestation may include a number of declining ash trees in the area.

• Woodpecker holes -- Woodpeckers love emerald ash borer

Oklahoma residents should notify Oklahoma Forestry Services at 405-522-6185 if they see any signs of the emerald ash borer. Arkansas residents can contact their local county extension agents. For more information about the pest, visit Oklahoma Forestry Services Website at www.forestry.ok.gov/eab, the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service website at http://bit.ly/2ejH3qu, or the national Emerald Ash Borer Information Network at www.emeraldashborer.info.

General News on 11/02/2016