STAFFORD, Va. – – Northern Virginia’s fight against the invasive Emerald Ash Borer continues.
The beetle, an intruder from Asia, is a threat to the area’s ash trees and has been the focus of a statewide advertising campaign urging campers to only use firewood collected from their campsite. Not moving firewood prevents the spread of the bug, state officials said.
First discovered in Michigan in 2002, it made its way to Virginia, fittingly, on a transport of small ash trees.
“The emerald ash borer is a serious problem with the potential to wipe out all of our ash trees,” said Stafford County Cooperative Extension Office Horticulture Technician Gwen Pote. “In 2010, the borers were detected in Prince William County. They have not been detected in Stafford County yet, however, I suspect they will be here soon.”
To detect the bugs, purple traps have been hung in trees throughout the region as part of an early detection survey.
If the beetles are found in the area, Stafford County will be quarantined to control the shipment of ash nursery stock and firewood to unifested areas.
Pote said it’s also possible to save individual, high value ash trees by using insecticide. Homeowners will be made alert if the bugs are detected so they can make a decision on whether to use insecticides.
Stafford’s Cooperative Extension office has more details about battling the bugs.
