The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection reports that emerald ash borer has been found in Door County for the first time, just south of Fish Creek. Door County will become the 22nd county in Wisconsin quarantined for EAB.
“Door County has a great deal of tourist traffic, and many cabins and campgrounds, so it is not a surprise to find EAB there. But it’s always disappointing when you find it,” said Brian Kuhn, director of DATCP’s Bureau of Plant Industry. EAB is most commonly introduced to new areas when people bring firewood from infested areas.
The ash-destroying insect was discovered on private property in the Town of Gibraltar last week, and confirmed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to be EAB. The quarantine, which will apply to all of Door County, prohibits ash wood products and hardwood firewood from being moved out of the county to areas that are not infested.
For private citizens, this means that neither residents nor tourists may take firewood from Door County to non-quarantine counties. For businesses handling wood products that could carry EAB, it means that they must work with DATCP to assure that their products are pest-free before shipping. The quarantine will be put in place temporarily by a Wisconsin emergency rule, until the U.S. Department of Agriculture completes the process to enact a federal quarantine.
DATCP recommends that property owners who have ash trees in quarantine counties:
· Keep a close watch for possible signs of EAB infestation: Thinning canopy, D-shaped holes in the bark, cracked bark, branches sprouting low on the trunk, and woodpeckers pulling at bark.
· Consider preventive treatments if your property is within 15 miles of a known infestation.
· Consider planting different species of trees that are not susceptible to EAB.
· Call a professional arborist, and visit emeraldashborer.wi.gov for detailed information.
Emerald ash borer was first found in Wisconsin in 2008 in Washington County. Other quarantined Wisconsin counties are Brown, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Douglas, Fond du Lac, Jefferson, Kenosha, La Crosse, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Rock, Sauk, Sheboygan, Trempealeau, Vernon, Walworth, Washington, Waukesha and Winnebago.