We have gotten three e-mail messages with the information that the Emerald Ash Borer has been found infesting trees in Butler and Montgomery Counties. Both counties are now quarantined and ash trees, ash firewood or any other part of the tree cannot be exported from these areas.

The Emerald Ash Borer is an Asian import that was discovered in Ohio in 2003. Since then it has been found in 31 counties in Michigan, Maryland, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Pennsylvania. It will be in our area at some point.

Ash tree owners are asked to check for the following symptoms in their trees:

• Distinct, D-shaped exit holes in the bark
• Serpentine-shaped tunnels under the bark on the surface of the wood
• Young sprout growth at the base of the tree
• Unusual activity by woodpeckers
• Thinning canopy of the tree
• Vertical splits in the bark

The insect is one half inch long and dark green. They fly only from May to September. The rest of they year the larvae are beneath the bark of the tree. The ash borer will cause the death of an ash tree within 5 years.

Further information can be found at the Ohio Department of Agriculture web site . There are useful pictures and information on reporting sightings.