Total Landscape Care Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/132471
chemical care Photo: Eric R. Day, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University are in proximity to where EABs are already known to be is the surest way to protect trees, according to Deborah McCullough, forest entomologist at Michigan State University. "The first step is to know if an ash borer is in or near your area," she says. "Once you know they are within 15 miles, you really need to start planning what you're going to do. "We have made significant progress in the treatment of ash borers," says McCullough, who has been the lead researcher on EAB in the state of Michigan since its discovery in 2002. "There is no longer any reason to let these trees die unless you just don't care." Cashing in Adult EABs emerge from trees around June, leaving D-shaped exit holes in tree bark. Map: Cooperative Emerald Ash Borer Project, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection Service (USDA/APHIS/PPQ), and US Forest Service, Oct. 1, 2012 It's been a little more than 10 years since EAB (Agrilus planipennis) made its way onto our continent, but already it has earned a title: the most destructive and costly forest insect to ever invade North America. Native to Asia, it is believed the beetle arrived in wood packing material shipped from there. As adults, the ash borers are not much of a threat, nibbling on foliage. It's the larvae that Each year, two or three new states get populated by EAB, mostly as a result of human transport. 4 8 To ta l L a n d s cap eCare.c om TLC0613_ChemCare.indd 48 j u n e 2 013 5/23/13 3:48 PM