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Emerald ash borer spreads to 14 new Illinois counties

PHOTO: The emerald ash borer is smaller than a penny, but the insect’s effect on ash trees is devastating. This photo shows the borer’s size, as well as the serpentine channels that its larvae chew into the inner bark of ash trees. Photos courtesy Illinois

The Emerald Ash Borer, a pest responsible for killing millions of ash trees in North America, has been confirmed in 14 additional Illinois counties, including five located outside the current quarantine zone.

The new discoveries were made by Illinois Department of Agriculture employees checking traps placed to detect the beetle.  Emerald Ash Borer program manager Scott Schirmer tells Brownfield the best that can be hoped for is to manage the insect.

“I don’t think there’s any getting rid of it,” Schirmer told Brownfield on Monday.  “Basically it’s not an eradication program; it started off that way, but we quickly learned on a national level that we’re not going to get rid of this thing, so it’s kind of gone the way of Gypsy Moth, where we assume and know it’s going to be here and kind of work to slow the spread and continue to buy time for those areas that aren’t known to be infested yet.”

In addition to the 49 Illinois counties already quarantined, five are to be added where borers were recently found, plus two other counties where they were discovered earlier this year.  Schirmer says being added to the quarantine change regulations.

“If a company’s been used to cutting down logs and moving them to a sawmill, that may be restricted now,” said Schirmer, “because if the logs are cut within the quarantine and they want to transport them out of the quarantine, they may not be able to or have to go through some extra layers of inspections and treatments and paperwork in order to be able to do that.”

Emerald ash borer larvae burrow into ash tree bark, causing trees to starve and die.  Since its first detection in Michigan in 2002, the emerald ash borer has killed more than 250 million ash trees.

The new discoveries were made by Illinois Department of Agriculture employees as they retrieved and analyzed the many purple traps the department placed across the state to detect the presence of the tiny beetle, which is known for its distinctive, metallic green, wing color.
In Logan County, the ash borer was found on North St. in Atlanta.
In Menard, it was discovered at Deerpath Lane and Oakland Ave. in Petersburg.
The Perry County find was made on Reed Rd. in Du Quoin.
In Sangamon County, the trap was located in an ash tree on Reynolds St. near Douglas Park.
And, in Williamson County, it was detected on McDonald St. in Marion.
The EAB traps also led to new confirmations in eight counties within the quarantine. Those counties are Coles, Douglas, Ford, Marshall, Piatt, Shelby, Warren and Woodford. An additional detection was made in Edgar County by an Eastern Illinois University professor and later confirmed through samples collected by IDOA staff.
Newly-infested counties are encouraged to begin putting the quarantine restrictions into practice.
“Residents, businesses and municipalities should familiarize themselves with the regulations in anticipation of being included in the quarantine,” EAB program manager Scott Schirmer said. “I would recommend they study management options as well to help establish plans and budgets for addressing their infestations.”
The emerald ash borer is native to Asia. Its larvae burrow into the bark of ash trees, causing the trees to starve and eventually die. Since the first detection of the pest near Detroit, Mich., in 2002, it has killed more than 250 million ash trees.
The tiny beetle often is difficult to detect, especially in newly-infested trees. Signs of infestation include thinning and yellowing leaves, D-shaped holes in the bark of the trunk or branches and basal shoots.Anyone who suspects an ash tree has been infested should contact their county Extension office, their village forester or the Illinois Department of Agriculture.
The state quarantine currently includes 49 Illinois counties and is intended to prevent the artificial or “human-assisted” spread of the beetle through the movement of potentially-infested wood and nursery stock. Specifically, it prohibits the removal of the following items:
The emerald ash borer in any living stage of development.
Ash trees of any size.
Ash limbs and branches.
Any cut, non-coniferous firewood.
Bark from ash trees and wood chips larger than one inch from ash trees.
Ash logs and lumber with either the bark or the outer one-inch of sapwood, or both, attached.
Any item made from or containing the wood of the ash tree that is capable of spreading the emerald ash borer.
Any other article, product or means of conveyance determined by the Illinois Department of Agriculture to present a risk of spreading the beetle infestation.
The counties currently under quarantine are Boone, Bureau, Champaign, Carroll, Clark, Coles, Cook, Cumberland, DeKalb, DeWitt, Douglas, DuPage, Edgar, Effingham, Fayette, Ford, Grundy, Henderson, Henry, Iroquois, Jo Daviess, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Knox, Lake, LaSalle, Lee, Livingston, Macon, Marion, Marshall, McHenry, McLean, Mercer, Moultrie, Ogle, Piatt, Putnam, Rock Island, Shelby, Stark, Stephenson, Vermilion, Warren, Whiteside, Will, Winnebago and Woodford.