Those purple prisms hanging from ash trees in Franklin County aren’t kites caught in the branches.
They’re traps used to track the emerald ash borer, the little pests that kill ash trees.
They burrow beneath the bark and deposit their crème-colored larvae, which rips through the tree’s water and nutrient conducting tissues.
One emerald ash borer infestation has been confirmed in Franklin County at the corner of KY Route 1570 and KY Route 12 near the Shelby County line.
“They’ve probably been in the county for a year or so, and we just haven’t noticed it until recently,” said Kim Cowherd, Franklin County extension agent for horticulture.
This year, about 100 traps have been set in Franklin County by the University of Kentucky to track the ash borer’s movement nationwide as it migrates south.
“The traps are there to attract the emerald ash borer through food and a sex pheromone,” Cowherd said.
“We’re not trying to distract them away, because they’re going to get to the ash tree anyway. We’re trying to get a good idea of where they are and where they’re going.”
Roughly 6,000 traps have been installed throughout the state.
The emerald ash borer was first identified in Michigan in 2002 and has moved south since to ash trees in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and surrounding states.
They’ve been sighted in Jefferson, Fayette, Shelby, Jessamine and Kenton counties.
Franklin County has been good about identifying and controlling potential borer infestations.
“People are paying more attention to their ash trees,” says Janet Lensing, state survey coordinator for UK entomology. “We keep going out on calls, look at traps and try to control this insect’s movement.”
County agents and UK surveyors inspected locations on Tuesday at The Oaks, Springhill, Switzer and others. An infested ash tree loses leaves and branches in its canopy and woodpeckers get busier.
Identifying the insect can be difficult. It’s a small, iridescent metallic green beetle about half an inch long, thin and without spots. Larvae are crème-colored and rectangular, bell-shaped or trapezoidal.
The D-shaped hole made by the adult beetle as it leaves the ash tree is how most people become aware there’s an infestation.
“The exit hole is a very distinct D shape,” Cowherd said. “It’s smaller than your finger and can be hard to see because ash bark is blocky and ridged.”
Cowherd suggests peeling back the bark if it’s falling off and looking for the snake-line pathways carved out by the larvae or the larvae itself.
Treatment for infested trees is limited to prevention.
“Since it is a foreign pest, there are no chemicals or natural predators in the state to control the population,” Cowherd said.
“The best thing to use is imidacloprid (found in products such as Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub Insect Control) and begin treatment now, because once a person’s tree is infested, it’s too late.”
Users of the chemical, imidacloprid, need to properly mix it with water and pour it around the base of the tree so the roots soak in the chemical. As the borer eats through the bark, it ingests the chemical and dies.
Professional arborists can also be consulted.
Transportation of firewood is also important to control. Cowherd recommends not taking firewood camping or bringing home any excess firewood from a trip.
“It’s critical for people to buy their firewood, even if traveling within Kentucky,” she said.
“Western Kentucky doesn’t have any emerald ash borers, but if a person brings firewood that has the larvae inside of it to a place like Land Between the Lakes for a camping trip, that location will be at a high risk of infestation.”
---
infested by Ash borers?
If you think your ash tree is infested, call the ash borer hotline: 866-322-4512.