Do you have ash trees on your property? Keep an eye out for signs for Emerald Ash Borer.
- Adult beetles leave a D-shaped exit hole in the bark when they emerge in spring.
- Woodpeckers like EAB larvae. Heavy woodpecker damage on ash trees may be a sign of infestation.
- The leafy canopy of infested ash trees will begin to look thin. A third to a half of the branches may die in one year. Most of the canopy will be dead within 2 years of when symptoms are first seen.
Emerald Ash Borer are exotic beetles that, in their larvae stage, feed on the inner bark of ash trees, disrupting the tree’s ability to transport nutrients and water thus killing the tree. Since its discovery in 2002, it has killed millions of Ash trees and caused thousands more to be removed to slow its spread.
In 2019, the City partnered with the Kansas Department of Agriculture, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s Plant Protection and Quarantine, and the Kansas Forest Service to inspect previously installed traps and discovered Emerald Ash Borer in the tree trap, confirming its presence in Miami County. The beetle had already been discovered in Johnson County.
Monitor your trees and be vigilant in transporting wood or tree material from ash trees out of the county. If you believe any of your ash trees may be affected, whether or not you are in the quarantined area, please notify KDA immediately at (785) 564-6698 or KDA.ppwc@ks.gov.