Mahoning ash trees fall victim to insects

A quarantine makes it illegal to transport firewood out of
Mahoning County.

By DON SHILLING

VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR

The larvae of a dreaded insect that strangles ash trees have been found in Mahoning County for the first time.

State officials confirmed the infestation Wednesday and moved quickly to place a quarantine on the county.

It is now illegal to remove any hardwood firewood or any part of an ash tree from the county. An offense is a misdemeanor crime and punishable with a fine up to $4,000.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture immediately enacted the quarantine after confirming the infestation because of the damage the larvae can cause.

An infestation is fatal to an ash tree and is spread easily from tree to tree. With 10 percent of all trees in Ohio being ash, state officials are nervous.

“We have a potential ecological disaster on our hands,” said Melissa Brewer, an agriculture department spokeswoman.

Entering the county

Officials confirmed that larvae of the emerald ash borer have infested at least two trees at the Glacier Hills Service Plaza on the Ohio Turnpike near the Pennsylvania line.

The trees, which have lost most of their leaves, were reported by a traveler from Michigan.

Brewer said stopping the spread of the emerald ash borer is critical. Those using firewood should buy local wood and use it there, she said.

The emerald ash borer was first found in this country in Michigan in 2002, and so far millions of trees have been killed. Brewer said experts fear ash trees could eventually be wiped out.

The insect was first found in Ohio in the Toledo area in 2003. Brewer said state officials haven’t yet estimated how many ash trees have been killed in Ohio.

The damaged Mahoning County trees were the first evidence of the emerald ash borer being found east of Cuyahoga County. Mahoning County becomes the 29th Ohio county to be placed under quarantine.

Brewer said state inspectors will be checking around the service plaza for more damaged trees.

“How far it’s spread out from here is unknown,” Brewer said.

Keeping a close eye out

State officials have inspected trees in the county in the past two years.

The insects are dangerous because they are native to Asia, so domestic trees have no natural defense. They are believed to have been brought to this country in packaging material brought through Michigan ports.

The female insect lays eggs in the bark of the tree. The larvae get inside the tree and spend up to two years burrowing just under the bark, soaking up the water and nutrients the tree should be receiving.

“It will strangle a tree in three to five years,” Brewer said. “It’s a death sentence for ash trees.”

The adult insects only live a few weeks after emerging from a tree. That the larvae showed up at a Mahoning County rest stop shows the danger of transporting firewood or parts of an ash tree, Brewer said.

“They only fly up to a half mile a year, but somehow they made it here. I’m not even good at math but even I know that something brought it here,” she said.

shilling@vindy.com