An evasive beetle recently occupied another Iowa county, making it the thirteenth county to be infested just this year.
Mike Kintner is the Iowa Department of Land Stewardship Emerald Ash Borer and Gypsy Moth Outreach and Regulatory Coordinator. Kintner said Emerald Ash Borer in Ringgold County was a recent find, and is the 52nd county in Iowa to be infested by the insect.
?The Ringgold County find was sourced from an area arborist that saw the trees, had some concerns and contacted our department. We followed up on that, and it turned out to be Emerald Ash Borer,? Kintner said.
While there is no way to remove the Emerald Ash Borer infestation from Ringgold and other counties, the Iowa Department of Land Stewardship has implemented efforts to keep the infestation from further spreading.
?We have found out long ago with Emerald Ash Borer that it?s a pest can?t be eradicated; we can?t get rid of it completely. But, we do have efforts in place to keep it from spreading, and hopefully to keep it localized. One of the things that we always talk about is trying to keep firewood and infested tree debris as local as possible, so not to move it to new areas to infest the locations where it has not been found yet,? Kintner said.
The Emerald Ash Borer can feast on live, green Ash tree tissue for a couple years before the tree finally succumbs to the pest. Once the tree falls to the insect, the insect will naturally look for another tree to feast off of. With Ringgold County on Iowa?s southern border, Kintner worries that the infestation might spread into Missouri.
?There?s always a concern that Emerald Ash Borer can spread. You just don?t know where it?s going to show up next,? Kintner said. ?It obviously is down in Missouri as well. We?ve seen a lot of southern border counties in Iowa, especially on the eastern half of the state, those southern border counties in Iowa have pretty much all turned up to be Emerald Ash Borer positive now.?
Homeowners within a 15-mile radius of a known infested location are encouraged to start thinking about using protective treatments. When considering treatment options, homeowners must think about their tree?s health, when it?s best to treat their tree and what treatment method they?re going to use.
