Pennsylvanians will begin to see bright purple boxes hanging from ash trees across the Commonwealth after Memorial Day, said Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff. They are part of the agency’s effort to learn more about Emerald Ash Borers.

The three-sided, 15-by-24-inch, purple panel sticky traps attract adult Emerald Ash Borers as part of a statewide survey to assess the spread of the invasive beetle that arrived in Western Pennsylvania last summer. Pictures of the trap are available online.

"Emerald Ash Borer has the potential to devastate our ash tree population," said Secretary Wolff. "By using these traps, we will be able to determine if the threat has moved further east in the state. If so, we can then identify the next steps to protect the trees."

The Department of Agriculture's crew of 70 surveyors will place traps in 35 counties. Counties are divided into 1.5 square mile grids and one trap will be hung in each accessible grid, for a total of 10,000 traps. The remaining counties will be surveyed by other cooperating state and federal agriculture agencies.

Each trap is labeled with the department's website address and toll-free pest hotline-- 1-866-253-7189.

Last summer, the beetle was detected in Butler and Allegheny counties. Quarantine was imposed for those counties and neighboring Beaver and Lawrence counties to restrict the movement from the quarantine area of ash nursery stock, green lumber and any other ash material, including firewood.

Campers and homeowners in the quarantine area are reminded to use only locally-harvested firewood, burn all firewood on-site, and not carry it to new locations, as the borer can be spread through transport of infected firewood.

Emerald Ash Borer is a wood-boring beetle native to China and eastern Asia. Adults are dark green, one-half inch in length and one-eighth inch wide, and fly only from early May until September. Larvae spend the rest of the year beneath the bark of ash trees, and when they emerge as adults, leave D-shaped holes in the bark about one-eighth inch wide.

People who suspect they have seen Emerald Ash Borer should contact the department's toll-free pest hotline, 1-866-253-7189. For more information on the beetle and the quarantine, visit Agriculture’s Emerald Ash Borer webpage.

5/23/2008