Issue 16, October 6, 2014

Emerald Ash Borer

The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) has been confirmed in 14 new counties, including five that are located outside the current state quarantine zone intended to prevent the spread of the beetle.


Emerald Ash Borer adult.

The quarantine boundaries will probably be expanded in November once all of the EAB traps have been evaluated. It will include the new detections in Logan, Menard, Perry, Sangamon and Williamson counties, as well as two other counties outside the quarantine, Peoria and Tazewell, where EAB was detected for the first time earlier this year.

The detections were made by Illinois Department of Agriculture employees as they retrieved and analyzed the purple traps the department placed across the state to detect the presence of the beetle. 

  • In Logan County, the ash borer was found on North St. in Atlanta.
  • In Menard, it was discovered at Deerpath Lane and Oakland Ave. in Petersburg.
  • The Perry County find was made on Reed Rd. in Du Quoin.
  • In Sangamon County, the trap was located in an ash tree on Reynolds St. near Douglas Park.
  • And, in Williamson County, it was detected on McDonald St. in Marion.

The EAB traps also led to new confirmations in eight counties within the quarantine.  Those counties are Coles, Douglas, Ford, Marshall, Piatt, Shelby, Warren and Woodford.  An additional detection was made in Edgar County by an Eastern Illinois University professor and later confirmed through samples collected by IDOA staff.  

Newly-infested counties are encouraged to begin putting the quarantine restrictions into practice. (Phil Nixon, slightly modified press release from IDA

Author:
Phil Nixon

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