MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed the presence of emerald ash borer (EAB) in Jefferson County, Kansas.
On October 21, 2015, an EAB larva was removed from a girdled tree trap near Lake Perry in Jefferson County by the KDA in cooperation with the Army Core of Engineers, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s Plant Protection and Quarantine (USDA-APHIS-PPQ), and the Kansas Forest Service (KFS).
Regulatory officials with USDA-APHIS-PPQ confirmed the presence of EAB on October 23, 2015.
The trapping effort is a part of a local plan to establish seven girdled trap trees around the Kansas City Metro area to enhance the early detection network created by the national EAB survey conducted by KDA and USDA-APHIS-PPQ. Vogel noted that the ongoing surveillance efforts allowed the agencies to catch the pest early, which allows communities to prepare for the eventual impact of the emerald ash borer.
Since 2002, emerald ash borer, has killed millions of ash trees in 23 states.
Immediately after confirmation by KDA and USDA-APHIS-PPQ, Kansas expanded an emergency intrastate quarantine, currently in place in Douglas, Johnson, Leavenworth and Wyandotte counties, to include Jefferson County to help prevent further spread of EAB in Kansas. If Kansans outside of the quarantined areas think any of their trees may have the pest, they should notify KDA immediately at (785) 564-6698
(785) 564-6698 or at ppwc@kda.ks.gov.
Regulated items under quarantine include the following:
- 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.
KDA, as part of its mission to help protect the state’s natural resources, will host educational meetings in Jefferson County to provide information about emerald ash borer to help individuals and facilities that are equipped to treat and dispose of EAB-infected material properly to prevent further spread of the pest. USDA-APHIS-PPQ, the Kansas Forest Service and K-State Research and Extension will help host the public meetings.
To learn the most current information on the quarantine, visit http://agriculture.ks.gov/divisions-programs/plant-protect-weed-control/emerald-ash-borer. To learn more about the emerald ash borer, visit www.emeraldashborer.info.
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