TOPEKA – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed the presence of emerald ash borer (EAB) is now in Leavenworth County, Kansas.

The confirmation in Leavenworth County was made near Lansing. On July 16, 2014, an adult EAB was caught on a girdled tree trap placed on K-5 southeast of Lansing by the Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) in cooperation with the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) and the Kansas Forest Service (KFS).  A second EAB was also caught on a second girdled trap tree at Kenneth W. Bernard Community Park by the Kansas Department of Agriculture in cooperation the City of Lansing and the KFS.

Regulatory officials with the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s Plant Protection and Quarantine (USDA-APHIS-PPQ) confirmed the presence of EAB on July 17, 2014.

The trapping effort is a part of a local plan to establish 10 girdled trap trees around the Kansas City Metro area to enhance the early detection network created by the national EAB survey conducted by USDA and KDA. The cooperating agency set traps in March and 568 traps are in place across the state.

“In Kansas, we have worked for years on emerald ash borer prevention and surveillance efforts. These vigilant surveillance efforts allowed us to catch the pest early,” said Jeff Vogel, KDA Plant Protection and Weed Control program manager. “We are making additional plans right now for increased surveillance efforts to prevent further spread of emerald ash borer.”

Emerald ash borer, which is a pest of ash trees that is native to Asia, was first discovered in North America near Detroit, Michigan, in summer 2002. Since that time, the pest has killed millions of ash trees in Michigan, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Immediately after confirmation by USDA, Kansas expanded an emergency intrastate quarantine, currently in place in Wyandotte and Johnson counties, to include Leavenworth County to prevent further spread of EAB in Kansas. The quarantine applies to any corporation, company, society, association, partnership, governmental agency and any individual or combination of individuals. It prohibits movement of regulated items from the quarantined area, except under specific conditions established in the quarantine order.

Regulated items under quarantine include the following:

• The emerald ash borer, (Agrilus planipennis [Coleoptera: Buprestidae]), in any living stage of development;
• Firewood of all hardwood (non-coniferous) species;
• Nursery stock of the genus Fraxinus (Ash);
• Green lumber of the genus Fraxinus (Ash);
• Other material living, dead, cut, or fallen, including logs, stumps, roots, branches, and composted and uncomposted chips of the genus Fraxinus (Ash);
• Any other article, product, or means of conveyance that an inspector determines presents a risk of spreading emerald ash borer and notifies the person in possession of the article, product, or means of conveyance that it is subject to the restrictions of the regulations.

Prevention is key to limiting new infestations, Vogel said. KDA is working with stakeholders to assure they understand how to properly treat or dispose of emerald ash borer-infested ash trees and materials to reduce the impacts this pest has on the state. Vogel said the quarantine requires all ash trees and materials in the affected area to be treated or disposed of properly.

All ash trees are susceptible to infestation by the emerald ash borer. Trees become infested when adult beetles lay eggs on the bark. The eggs hatch into larvae that bore into the tree. They tunnel between the bark and wood and disrupt water and nutrient movement, eventually killing the tree. Emerald ash borer appears to prefer trees under stress but is capable of killing perfectly healthy trees.

Adult emerald ash borers are about one-half inch long and they emerge in late spring. The larvae feed just under the bark of a tree, which damages and eventually kills the tree. Trees infested with emerald ash borer will have canopy dieback, water sprouts, bark splitting, serpentine-like galleries and D-shaped exit holes.

Vogel said if Kansans think any of their trees may have the pest, they should notify KDA immediately at (785) 564-4468 or at ppwc@kda.ks.gov.

Vogel said all Kansans will play an important role in monitoring for emerald ash borer. In cooperation with USDA-APHIS-PPQ, the Kansas Forest Service and K-State Research and Extension, KDA plans to host town hall meetings with Kansans as well as industry and local government stakeholder meetings to provide information about emerald ash borer and to ensure that all necessary facilities and individuals are equipped to treat and dispose of emerald ash borer infested material properly to prevent further spread of the pest.

To learn the most current information click here. To learn more about the emerald ash borer, visit www.emeraldashborer.info.