ANNAPOLIS, MD (March 28, 2011) \u2013 As part of a national survey for the emerald ash borer (EAB), the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) has started hanging 2,600 14″ x 24″ triangular purple or green insect traps in ash trees statewide. Surveys, which are continuous and ongoing, are crucial to understanding the emerald ash borer\u2019s impact in Maryland and determining the best course of action.\u00a0 In Prince George\u2019s County, MDA will be also hanging 20 new green traps where we expect to collect beetles as part of the national \u201ctrap trial\u201d study. This year, the battle to stop the spread of the emerald ash borer will include more intensive surveys in Western Maryland and on the Eastern Shore \u2013 including Wicomico, Worcester and Somerset counties for the first time as part of the national grid survey in areas 50 miles outside of known infestation areas.\u00a0 Additionally, MDA will use systemic insecticides to treat selected trees in and around the known infested area and release three biocontrol agents (beneficial insects) at selected sites.<\/p>\n
The highest density of traps will be in the area where emerald ash borer has been found between the Washington beltway and Route 4 in Prince George\u2019s County and Routes 6 and 225 in Charles County. Surveyors will place at least one trap per 2 square miles across the rest of Maryland targeting high risk areas such as campgrounds and urban areas. Both the purple and green traps are sticky and baited with a compound that simulates a distressed ash tree. They are designed to attract the destructive emerald ash borer, should it be present. Residents should not be concerned if they see the traps and should not disturb them.\u00a0 MDA will place some traps on private property. All traps should be in the trees through August and will be checked every two weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur challenge is to keep the emerald ash borer from spreading so we hope we don\u2019t find any in these traps. As new tools have become available, we are modifying our strategy,\u201d said Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance.\u00a0 \u201cSince the insect can travel easily on firewood that might be moved from Prince George\u2019s or Charles counties and other states where it has been introduced \u2013 including Pennsylvania and West Virginia \u2013 we are trapping along travel routes. In addition we are encouraging campers, hunters, anglers and other outdoor enthusiasts to buy their firewood at their destination rather than take it with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The emerald ash borer was transported to Prince George\u2019s County, Maryland on an illegal shipment of ash trees from Michigan in 2003.\u00a0 Thousands of ash trees have been destroyed in Prince George\u2019s and Charles counties to eradicate the problem. The insect, an exotic pest from Asia, feeds on and kills ash trees.<\/p>\n
The presence of the emerald ash borer typically goes undetected until the trees show symptoms of being infested \u2013 usually the upper third of a tree will thin and then die back. This is usually followed by a large number of shoots or branches arising below the dead portions of the trunk. Other symptoms of infestation include: D-shaped exit holes in the bark where adults emerge, vertical splits in the bark, and distinct serpentine-shaped tunnels beneath the bark in the cambium, where larvae effectively stop food and water movement in the tree, starving it to death.\u00a0 The only way to eliminate the emerald ash borer is to cut down its food source – ash trees, but chemical and biological control tools, and public awareness, can help to stop its spread.<\/p>\n
For more information about the purple traps or to report signs of dying ash trees, contact the Maryland Department of Agriculture at 410-841-5920.\u00a0 For information about the emerald ash borer, visit\u00a0www.StopTheBeetle.info<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ANNAPOLIS, MD (March 28, 2011) \u2013 As part of a national survey for the emerald ash borer (EAB), the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) has started hanging 2,600 14″ x 24″ triangular purple or green insect traps in ash trees statewide. Surveys, which are continuous and ongoing, are crucial to understanding the emerald ash borer\u2019s Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[40],"class_list":["post-878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release","tag-emerald-ash-borer"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=878"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":881,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878\/revisions\/881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}