Emerald Ash Borer is Approaching North Texas!

Emerald Ash Borer is Approaching North Texas!
by Micah Pace, Urban Forestry Specialist, Certified Arborist – TX 3752A

In the summer of 2002, near Detroit, Michigan, an exotic Asian pest was found that would wreak havoc on millions of ash trees over the next 12 years. Emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis, has since killed tens of millions of ash trees. Due to the widespread planting of ash trees in the mid-west, states such as Michigan and Ohio have spent hundreds of millions of dollars not only trying to eradicate the pest, but to also remove dead trees which have increased safety risks including property damage and the increase of other pests and diseases.

While the bright metallic green color of EAB make its identification relatively easy,
but its small size makes spotting this pest very difficult.

The beetle is now found in 22 states in the US and two provinces in Canada. Fortunately, Texas has remained out of reach of this destructive pest as it has continued to advance its range. Sadly, our buffer of security appears to have eroded and the EAB has now been confirmed in southwestern Arkansas and is heading towards North Texas, according to the latest P.E.S.T (Progress Education Science Technology) newsletter, a quarterly publication from the Forest Pest Management Cooperative. Quarantines prohibiting the movement of ash wood products and firewood across counties and even entire states have helped slow the spread of the pest, but it appears to have finally made its way south to Texas’s door step.