Purdue Extension Service
Purdue Extension Service
Vanderburgh County, Indiana
Subject: HORT ALERT: Emerald Ash Borer found in Southern Indiana!!!
8/6/2008
Importance: High
GEORGETOWN, Ind. (AP) - Indiana officials say the emerald ash borer has been found just 14 miles from the Ohio River, the first confirmation that the tree-killing beetle has spread in the state south of Indianapolis.
The state Department of Natural Resources said Wednesday the beetle was found in a trap near the Floyd County community of Georgetown. The DNR says crews will survey the area to determine the extent of the infestation.
The ash borer has been found in 19 Indiana counties, mostly in the northeastern part of the state.
The DNR has imposed a quarantine, prohibiting the transportation of wood from ash trees from infected areas.
Large infestations of the green insect have killed millions of ash trees in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana since the borer was first found in the United States in 2002.
Floyd County is across the river from Louisville, Kentucky.
Purdue Entomologist Cliff Sadof told me that so far, no traps near the Evansville area have turned up any of the pest, and that we shouldn’t panic yet. Dr. Sadof said that we shouldn’t need to treat our trees with insecticides YET, at least not until the beetle is found in our county. However, if you have an extremely valuable ash tree (a local or state champion, it provides the only shade to your house, etc.), I personally would consider treating it, especially since the treatment is something easy enough for home gardeners to do.
Annual soil pesticide applications of imidacloprid (Bayer Tree and Shrub, or Fertilome Tree and Shrub) in the late fall or early spring can be effective in trees even after they start to show signs of infestation (up to 25% dead limbs). Other products (Safari and Tree Age ) are available to arborists. All of these products but Tree Age have to be applied annually to work. Tree Age can be applied (injected) every 2 years.
Homeowner info: http://www.entm.purdue.edu/EAB/management/for_homeowners.shtml
Professional info: http://www.entm.purdue.edu/EAB/industries/green_industry/pesticides/pesticide_use.shtml
Other information: http://www.emeraldashborer.info/
Emerald Ash Borer Look – Alikes: http://www.emeraldashborer.info/files/E2944.pdf (read this before calling me to say you have found the beetle!)