The Kansas Department of Agriculture, along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, confirmed the presence of emerald ash borer (EAB) in Atchison County, Kan.
On Sept. 19, 2016, an adult EAB was removed from a purple prism trap by a USDA contractor near the community of Cummings in Atchison County. Regulatory officials with USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s Plant Protection and Quarantine (USDA-APHIS-PPQ) confirmed the presence of EAB on Sept. 23, 2016.
The trapping effort is a part of a national plan to establish an early detection network created by the national EAB survey conducted by USDA-APHIS-PPQ and their contractors.
Emerald ash borer, a pest of ash trees native to Asia, was first discovered in North America near Detroit, Mich., in summer 2002. Since that time, the pest has killed millions of ash trees in Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
After confirmation by KDA and USDA-APHIS-PPQ, Kansas will expand the EAB quarantine, currently in place in Douglas, Jefferson, Johnson, Leavenworth and Wyandotte counties, to include Atchison 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) 564-4468 or [email protected].
KDA is committed to serving Kansas farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses, and to protecting the state’s natural resources. All Kansans will play an important role in monitoring for EAB. In cooperation with USDA-APHIS-PPQ, the Kansas Forest Service and K-State Research and Extension, KDA plans to host educational meetings in Atchison County to provide information about EAB and to ensure that all necessary facilities and individuals are equipped to treat and dispose of EAB infested material properly to prevent further spread of the pest.
The EAB quarantine prohibits movement of regulated items from the quarantined area, including EAB in any living stage of development, firewood of all hardwood species, or nursery stock, green lumber or other material living or dead of the genus Fraxinus (Ash). For a complete list and more information about the quarantine, visit http://agriculture.ks.gov/EAB. To learn more about EAB, visit www.emeraldashborer.info.
