Kansas Counties Quarantined for Emerald Ash Borer: Atchison, Doniphan, Douglas, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson,
Leavenworth, Miami, Shawnee and Wyandotte
The emerald ash borer is a pest of ash trees native to Asia. It was first discovered in North America in 2002 in the Detroit, Michigan, area. Since then, it has killed millions of ash trees and caused thousands more to be removed to slow its spread.
Since its initial discovery, the core area affected by the beetle has expanded. It has been detected in Ohio (2003), Indiana (2004), Illinois, Maryland (2006), Pennsylvania, West Virginia (2007), Virginia, Wisconsin, Missouri (2008), Minnesota, Kentucky, New York (2009), Iowa, Tennessee (2010), Connecticut, Kansas, Massachusetts (2012), Georgia, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Colorado, (2013), New Jersey, Arkansas (2014), Louisiana (2015), Texas, Nebraska, Delaware, Oklahoma, Alabama (2016), South Carolina (2017), Maine, South Dakota, Vermont (2018).
The current Kansas emergency intrastate quarantine includes Atchison, Doniphan, Douglas, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Leavenworth, Miami, Shawnee and Wyandotte counties to slow the spread of EAB in Kansas.
The quarantine applies to any corporation, company, society, association, partnership, governmental agency, and any individual or combination of individuals. It prohibits movement of regulated items from the quarantined area, except under specific conditions established in the
Permanent Emerald Ash Borer Quarantine
- for Atchison, Doniphan, Douglas, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Leavenworth, Miami, Shawnee and Wyandotte counties
Quarantine planned for Jackson and Miami counties soon.
Regulated items under quarantine include the following:
- The emerald ash borer, (Agrilus planipennis [Coleoptera: Buprestidae]), in any living stage of development;
- Firewood of all hardwood (non-coniferous) species;
- Nursery stock of the genus Fraxinus (Ash);
- Green lumber of the genus Fraxinus (Ash);
- Other material living, dead, cut, or fallen, including logs, stumps, roots, branches, and composted and uncomposted chips of the genus Fraxinus (Ash);
- Any other article, product, or means of conveyance that an inspector determines presents a risk of spreading emerald ash borer and notifies the person in possession of the article, product, or means of conveyance that it is subject to the restrictions of the regulations.
If you suspect emerald ash borer on your property and are not in one of the quarantined counties, please call 785-564-6698 or e-mail your name, address, phone number and pictures of the suspect tree to KDA.PPWC@ks.gov.
All ash trees native to Kansas are susceptible to infestation by the emerald ash borer. Trees become infested when adult beetles lay eggs on the bark. The eggs hatch into larvae that bore into the tree. They tunnel between the bark and wood and disrupt water and nutrient movement, eventually killing the tree. Emerald ash borer appears to prefer trees under stress, but is capable of killing perfectly healthy trees.
Emerald ash borer is responsible for killing or damaging 20 million ash trees in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Ontario, Canada. Financially, the United States risks an economic loss of $20 billion to $60 billion because of this pest. A complete devastation of ash trees could seriously affect our ecosystem.
Without government action and cooperation from the public, firewood dealers, arborists and the nursery industry, emerald ash borer will be introduced in Kansas. Preventing its introduction is far more cost-effective than trying to contain it as an established pest.
Information will be posted here as meetings are scheduled with public, industry, and other stakeholders to discuss the impacts of the Emerald Ash Borer.
Kansas has an Emerald Ash Borer Readiness and Response Plan that involves many agencies and organizations. The plan outlines what each organization does in Kansas when a new infested county is found. You can read the response plan at:
KS Emerald Ash Borer Response Plan revision 2-12-10
The Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) and USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service have been helping with a national survey for emerald ash borer since 2008 by putting out emerald ash borer traps in Kansas. Each agency hung purple prism traps at locations across the state. The traps remained in place from March/April to August/September. As of 2016, USDA has contracted out the purple prism trapping.
KDA has been girdling trees since the find in 2013 in Wyandotte County. Trees are girdled in non-quarantine counties adjacent to quarantine counties in the spring and removed and peeled in the fall to look for larva.
We also respond to citizen inquiries if they suspect they might have emerald ash borer. We will continue our effort to keep surveillance of areas of concern and other high risk areas in Kansas.
