Invasive pest kills ash trees; Iowans asked to not move firewood

DES MOINES — The Iowa Emerald Ash Borer Team confirmed last week the emerald ash borer (EAB), an invasive pest that kills ash trees, has been found in Iowa along the Mississippi River two miles south of the Minnesota border in Allamakee County. 

This is the first confirmed EAB infestation in Iowa.

Four EAB larvae were found in one ash tree by members of Iowa’s EAB team during a survey of the area following the recent announcement the beetle had been found ac-ross the Minnesota border. An infestation in nearby Victory, Wis., was discovered in 2009.

A quarantine prohibiting the movement of firewood, ash nursery stock, ash timber or any other article that could further spread EAB is pending.

This detection of EAB in Iowa was the result of collaborative effort that has been looking for this pest since 2003. Detection efforts have included visual surveys, sentinel trees, trap surveys, nursery inspections, sawmill/wood processing site visits and hundreds of educational programs.

EAB team members are placing 1,800 purple traps at high-risk areas in the state. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources also has 412 trap trees in the state.

The emerald ash borer is native to Asia and was detected in the U.S. near Detroit in 2002. EAB kills all ash species by larval burrowing under the bark and eating the actively growing layers.