What Is EAB?
The adult Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) beetle:
This invasive insect is bright, metallic green, about 1/2″ long with a flattened back. It has purple abdominal segments under its wing covers. The EAB can fit on the head of a penny, and is hard to spot in the wild.
The EAB larva: It’s the larva that does all the harm to ash trees. Larvae tunnel under the bark and disrupt the tree’s systems that transport food and water, eventually starving and killing it.
Since it was first detected in North America, the beetle has been found in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. More states are at risk.
The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) beetle has killed tens of millions of trees, from forests to neighborhoods. Here’s how you can help protect our trees:
Never Move Firewood
Burn It Where You Buy It
Report Beetle Sightings or Signs of Infestation
How did it get here?
The EAB probably arrived inside wood packing material from Asia. Since its discovery in southeastern Michigan in 2002, the EAB has killed tens of millions of ash trees.
How does it spread?
EAB adults are strong flyers, but most of them only fly short distances (about 1/2 mile). So they don’t spread far on their own. Most new infestations are caused by people unknowingly taking infested ash to an uninfested area.
Where can the beetle hide?
Infested ash materials can include nursery stock, mulch(?), logs — and especially firewood. When people move infested firewood, they spread the beetle to our forests and neighborhoods.
What is the cost?
EAB infestations have already cost municipalities, property owners, and industries millions of dollars. If we don’t stop the beetle, the economic costs will be unimaginable and our yards, woods and neighborhoods may never be the same again.
To report seeing the EAB in Iowa contact – Rob Meinders
Rob Meinders, State Plant Health Director
USDA, APHIS, PPQ
11213 Aurora Ave.
Urbandale, IA 50322
Phone: (515) 251-4083
Fax: (515) 251-4093
robert.d.meinders@aphis.usda.gov
