Ash borer found in additional areas

8/29/2006

COLUMBUS, Ohio A beetle that has killed millions of ash trees in three Midwestern states has been found in an 18th Ohio county, state agriculture officials said.

Marion County, where the emerald ash borer was discovered for the first time, and southern neighbor Delaware County, where it has turned up again, are under quarantine, Melissa Brewer, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Agriculture, said Monday.

The quarantine makes it illegal to move hardwood firewood or any ash products out of those central Ohio counties.

In each county, the beetle was discovered in a tree within the past week, Brewer said. Surveyors are trying to determine the extent of the infestation.

The pest also has been found in Auglaize, Defiance, Erie, Franklin, Fulton, Hancock, Henry, Huron, Lorain, Lucas, Miami, Sandusky, Ottawa, Williams, Wood and Wyandot counties.

The ash borer has killed about 20 million ash trees in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana. It was first discovered in Ohio in 2003.

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