Emerald Ash Borer Confirmed in Grundy County – Educational Class Planned for October 3, 2018

The emerald ash borer, a destructive insect that attacks and kills ash trees, has been detected for the first time in Grundy County. There are now 65 counties in Iowa with confirmed infestations. Insect samples were collected from a city-owned tree in Dike after an Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship worker noticed ash trees showing the signs of a tree under attack. The collected samples were positively identified as EAB by a federal identifier. The beetle can fly only short distances. There is also the ever-present risk of spreading EAB and other tree-killing pests through human transport of firewood. EAB-infested ash trees can include sparse foliage or thinning of the canopy, excessive sprouting of epicormic shoots from the trunk or main branches, increased woodpecker activity, serpentine (“S”-shaped) galleries under the bark, vertical bark splitting, and 1/8 inch D-shaped emergence holes.
Grundy County Extension and Outreach will host an informational meeting concerning the presence of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), an exotic, destructive insect of ash trees. Participants will learn how to identify EAB, how to identify an ash tree, signs of an EAB infestation, treatment options and tree replacement options.
This program is free to the public and will be presented by Patty Reisinger, Trees Forever, and Mike Kintner, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.
Class will be held at the ISU Grundy County Extension & Outreach Office, 703 F Avenue, Suite 1, Grundy Center on October 3 at 6:00 p.m.
With questions call Grundy County Extension Program Director, Shari Sell-Bakker at 319-824-6979 or e-mail sellbakk@iastate.edu