Purdue Extension Service
Purdue Extension Service
Vanderburgh County, Indiana
Subject: HORT ALERT: Emerald Ash Borer in Brown County, Demo Day
September 29, 2008
Emerald ash borer (EAB), the invasive green beetle that is a devastating pest of North American ash trees, has been confirmed as being present in Hamblen Township in Brown County, Indiana. The area in which the beetle was found is not near Brown County State Park or Yellowwood State Forest. DNR experts say that the beetle probably was transported to the area by firewood movement, which likely occurred 3-4 years ago.
EAB has now been found in 20 Indiana counties: Adams, Allen, Brown, DeKalb, Elkhart, Floyd, Hamilton, Huntington, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Marion, Noble, Porter, Randolph, St. Joseph, Steuben, Wabash, Wells, White and Whitley. A total of 10 states have confirmed populations of EAB, including: Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Missouri, Maryland, Wisconsin and Virginia. Over 40 million ash trees have been killed in southeastern Michigan alone, with tens of millions more lost in the other nine infested states.
Quarantine procedures are being implemented in Brown County to help manage the spread of this pest. The quarantine regulates the movement of ash products, including ash nursery trees, ash logs and all types of hardwood firewood. Once the quarantine is implemented, it will not be legal to transport these items out of Hamblen Township without a compliance agreement provided by the DNR.
EAB, first found in Indiana in 2004, is a bright green insect that is visible only during the summer. Symptoms of an infested ash tree include dieback of the leaves in the upper third of the canopy, vertical splits in the bark, D-shaped exit holes in the main trunk, S-shaped tunnels under the bark, increased woodpecker activity, and water sprouts at the base of the trunk. More information on identifying the beetle and its damage can be found at the Federal EAB website: http://www.emeraldashborer.info/ .
We will discuss Emerald Ash Borer and other tree pests at the Tree Care Seminar, which will be held this Thursday, October 2, at the Vanderburgh 4H Center. Price of the workshop is $30, and there are still seats available. Topics include: tree identification; right tree/right place; proper tree planting, pruning, and care; and diagnosing pests of trees.
The Southwestern Indiana Master Gardener Association will be holding their second annual Demo Day at the Master Gardener Display Gardens, located on the north side of the Evansville State Hospital grounds, between the Boy Scouts and the Red Cross. The Demo Day will be Saturday, October 11, and will run from 8 am to 2 pm. Every hour on the hour, a different educational event will run, including:
All sessions will be taught by local Master Gardeners. This program is FREE, and is open to the public. Please stop on by and see what the Master Gardeners have been doing!