City Prepares For Eventual Appearance Of Exotic Tree Beetle

City Prepares For Eventual Appearance Of Exotic Tree Beetle

Date of Record: March 28, 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 28, 2006

For more information contact:
Mick Renneisen, Director, City of Bloomington parks and Recreation,(812)349-3711
Dr. Robert Waltz, State Entomologist, DNR Division of Entomology and Plant Pathology (317)232-4120
Maria K. Heslin, Communications Director, City of Bloomington, (812)349-3569

Bloomington, IN -- City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Director Mick Renneisen and Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Entomologist Dr. Robert Waltz announced today that with the recent discovery of an exotic tree pest in Hamilton County, the City of Bloomington is preparing for the beetle's likely arrival in Monroe County.

The emerald ash borer, a native of Asia, burrows into the bark of ash trees during its larval stage and destroys the tree's vascular system. There is no known way to get rid of the larvae once they have attacked a tree. Most trees infested with the emerald ash borer will die within two years.

"The emerald ash borer larvae feed on the cambium layer of ash trees, just under the bark," Renneisen said. "Most trees will die within two years of infestation." He said department staff is keeping a close eye on ash trees along Bloomington streets and in City parks, watching for the first signs that emerald ash borer larvae are present.

"According to our street tree inventory, about seven percent of Bloomington's trees are ash," Renneisen said. "We'll identify and remove infected trees in parks and on City streets to help prevent the spread of the borer to other ash trees."

Homeowners can help protect the health of their own trees by watching for signs of infestation. Emerald ash borer larvae make a characteristic, inverted D-shaped hole, about the size of a pencil eraser, in the bark of infected trees.

Dr. Burnell Fischer, a SPEA forestry professor at Indiana University, said homeowners should watch their ash trees this spring for signs that the tree is under stress, such as a sparse or partial crown of leaves or splitting bark. "Look for woodpecker activity," Fischer said. "Increased visits to ash trees by woodpeckers may be a sign that larvae are present."

Waltz said the public can help slow the spread of the emerald ash borer by not moving firewood or live trees because larvae may be present in the bark. "We believe the initial introduction of emerald ash borer was in nursery stock," he said. "Emerald ash borer can move up to a half mile a year on its own and humans tend to help it along when they move firewood and nursery stock to previously uninfected areas."

Renneisen said the emerald ash borer seems most drawn to ash trees that are unhealthy or stressed, so homeowners can help protect their ash trees with mulching and frequent watering. For more information about the emerald ash borer, visit [http://www.emeraldashborer.info/|http://www.emeraldashborer.info/] or contact the City's Urban Forester Lee Huss at 349-3716.

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