FRANKFORT, Ky. — For a dozen years, the emerald ash borer (EAB) has spread across the Northeast, the Midwest, into sections of Canada and now, in the southern portions of the country.

The pest first appeared in the Detroit area in 2002 and is thought to have gotten to this country from ash wood being used to stabilize shipping creates. The EAB originated in Asia and Eastern Russia. In Kentucky, purple traps were set in various locations to track the insect’s movements but the EAB has become so widespread here, the traps are no longer needed.

A statewide quarantine was issued in April, which means ash materials may move from Kentucky to surrounding states that are also wholly quarantined for the EAB, including Missouri, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia, according to information from the University of Kentucky (UK) College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

Lee Townsend, UK extension entomology professor, said that doesn’t mean the EAB is in every county in Kentucky. "While it is quite likely that the insect is present outside the original quarantined counties, our entire state is not infested at this time. At this point, emerald ash borer activity is still very localized in some areas," he said.

There was an original quarantine of 20 counties. And despite the fact the insect can fly, human movement still seems to be one of the main ways it is spreading despite the quarantines, said Carl Harper, senior nursery inspector at UK.

"This only affects ash and affects all ash trees. Some are less susceptible, but they are all affected if the pressure is high enough," he said.

Harper added while the ash is not the most populous of trees in Kentucky, many city areas have been landscaped with them. "I believe the cityscapes are where you would notice the most problems because a lot of streets were lined with ash and houses use ash as a landscape tree."

Firewood is another major avenue of transport for the EAB, and other pests. Harper said firewood should not be taken out of the area it came from and, when used, should be burned completely.

"Other trees also harbor pests and (firewood) is a big carrier of insect pests like EAB and the Asian Longhorn beetle, another insect which has not gotten into Kentucky that we’ve got be on the lookout for," he said.

While pests like these damage trees from an environmental standpoint, the forestry industry is huge economically, as well.

"The widespread economic impact of the forest and wood industries in Kentucky is considerable. Our analysis indicated it provided more than 59,000 jobs and a total economic impact of $12.8 billion in 2013," said Jeff Stringer, UK extension professor for hardwood silviculture and forest operations.

"The loss of the trees is affecting Kentucky’s woodlands, our forest industry and homeowners and cities that have widely planted ash."

Kentucky has expanded its quarantine to include the whole state, but neighboring Tennessee is still issuing local measures; however, the number of counties affected is growing. According to information from the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA), a quarantine has been expanded to seven additional counties recently in Middle and East Tennessee, restricting the movement of ash trees and their products. This brings the total number of Tennessee counties under a state and federal EAB quarantine to 34.

Gray Haun, TDA’s Plant Certification administrator, said because of the presence of EAB in counties near areas confirmed to have the pests, there is a high likelihood it is present in these counties as well – but so far has gone undetected. "We feel it is in the best interest of the state to go ahead and quarantine these areas," he said.

There are treatments for EAB, including insecticides and soil injections. Experts suggest homeowners or woodland owners who are located within 15 miles of the quarantines areas and want to protect their ash trees should begin to apply treatments.

"At this point, it is not clear how long landscape ash trees must be protected as the wave of EAB infestation passes through, but seven to 10 years is a reasonable estimate," said Townsend.

More information about the emerald ash borer in Kentucky and a list of affected counties are available online at http://pest.ca.uky.edu/EXT/EAB/ welcomeeab.html

For more information about EAB and other destructive forest pests in Tennessee, visit the new website at www.protecttnforests.org