Lexington, KY - Winter is not typically the time of year when bugs are a concern, but in the case of one pest, there is an ever-present worry about it and the threat it poses to the state's ash tree population.
The emerald ash borer (EAB), which attacks and can kill ash trees, has spread to at least 20 counties since its discovery here in 2009. Those include Anderson, Boyle, Bracken, Garrard, Hardin, Scott, Boone, Kenton, Campbell, Fayette, Jessamine, Franklin, Henry, Owen, Shelby, Woodford, Boyd, Greenup, Jefferson and Oldham counties.
The EAB first appeared in this country in Michigan in 2002 and has slowly spread to approximately 14 states, as well as Ontario and Quebec in Canada, leaving in its wake millions of dead ash trees.
In the warmer months when the pest is active, purple traps have been hung in the host trees to help monitor its movement. However, the infestation can also spread in the winter months through movement of infested wood by those who are selling it for firewood or cutting wood for themselves.
Quarantines have been established within states known to have the EAB, including Kentucky, as a way to keep the pest from spreading. Informing the public of the presence of the EAB and the dangers of moving infected wood has been the focus of a public awareness campaign by the Kentucky Office of the State Entomologist at the University of Kentucky (UK) College of Agriculture.
UK Extension entomologist Lee Townsend said this is an important time to be aware of the EAB's presence.
"People sell [wood] as a business, and it's a way the insect can be moved around without us even thinking about it," he said. "So this is a very important time to be thinking about it."
Townsend said most of the newly added counties are close to the original quarantine area, where a natural spread of the insect can be expected, but it is alarming when discoveries are made 70 or 80 miles away, as in the case of Hardin County.
"The detection process is a little bit slow because trapping is still being developed for it, so an insect is probably in the area for a while before you trap it or realize it's there," he said.
The EAB has spread nationally as far as southeastern Missouri to the west and Knoxville, Tenn., to the south, and it has had a tendency to be associated with rest areas and campgrounds - the kinds of places where people are carrying and leaving firewood, according to Townsend.
Aside from the possibility of wiping out a huge portion of a tree species, the invasion of the EAB could have a detrimental affect from an economical standpoint. The ash tree is used for a variety of products, including everything from furniture to flooring to baseball bats. It is also an ornamental tree used in many urban landscapes. The losses incurred by the EAB are estimated by some to be in the tens of millions of dollars, according to the emerald ash borer website (www.emeraldashborer.info), set up as part of a multinational effort to continually provide information about the insect and its movement. Townsend said the spread is likely to continue for the unforeseeable future.
"At this point, I don't think there is an end to it. I don't see a limiting factor to the spread of that insect as long as there are ash tree hosts for it to infest. I think the spread is going to continue, and the concentration is going to be to try to focus biological control around the edges of known infestations," he said.
That includes introducing natural enemies of the insect in Kentucky and other states.
Kentucky's timber industry
The firewood industry is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the state's overall timber industry. In fact, Kentucky timber accounts for about $4.5 billion annually in sales, with approximately 30,000 people employed directly.
The vast majority of that business is connected to hardwoods such as ash, thus making the EAB a factor when it comes to affecting the economy. But the industry is strong and sustainable, said Robert J. Bauer, the executive director of the Kentucky Forest Industries Association (KFIA).
"It's a large industry and in general is considered around the third largest manufacturing industry in Kentucky. And we're also, depending on the year, usually the third or fourth [largest] hardwood-producing state in the nation," he said.
He added that the economic impact the EAB could have would vary across the state, due to varying populations of ash trees.
"Obviously, if you start picking up a number of ash trees on your wood lot, it's going to add up to quite a bit of money," Bauer said.
With virtually all wood products coming from logs located on private land, it is those farmers and landowners who will face the brunt of the blow, economically speaking.
With that said, the public should be aware of what is allowable as far as moving any ash wood. According to information from the state entomologist's office, "The quarantine prohibits 'regulated articles' from being moved outside a quarantined area without a certificate or limited permit, except under certain conditions Ö 'Regulated articles' are defined as the emerald ash borer, hardwood firewood, ash nursery stock, green ash lumber, other ash material and any other materials that present a threat of artificial spread of the emerald ash borer."