Regulation

The emerald ash borer is a pest of ash trees native to East 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.

In December 2020, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) published a final rule to remove the federal domestic EAB quarantine regulations. As a result, KDA has also lifted its quarantine effective March 1^st, 2021 and instead resources will be diverted to education, outreach, survey and biocontrol.

Initially, local county-level quarantines were established to prohibit movement of ash trees and other related items, but those quarantines have been largely ineffective in preventing the spread of the pest. KDA will continue to survey and monitor for EAB, and will direct available resources toward non-regulatory options for management and containment of the pest, including collaborative efforts with industry organizations to educate communities about the threat of EAB and participation in biological control opportunities available through USDA-APHIS.

Order Rescinding Permanent EAB Quarantine

If you suspect emerald ash borer on your property and are not in one of the detected counties (see above), 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. Eggs hatch into larvae that bore into the tree, tunneling between the bark and wood, disrupting water and nutrient movement, eventually killing the tree. Emerald ash borer appears to prefer trees under stress but can kill 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 spread to non-present counties is far more cost-effective than trying to manage it as an established pest.

Survey & Management

Read about Kansas Department of Agriculture’s emerald ash borer survey work on our Pest Surveys page.

We aid United States Department of Agriculture-Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service in their efforts to establish biological control agents to help manage emerald ash borer populations in Kansas. Three parasitic biological control agents are being released in Kansas; more info on emerald ash borer biocontrol.

You Can Help

Since the emerald ash borer's initial introduction into the United States, it has been spread to many areas of the country by campers and homeowners who unknowingly moved infested firewood to un-infested areas where the beetles emerged and infested new ash trees.

You can help slow the spread of the emerald ash borer into Kansas by not moving firewood across county lines. When buying wood for your home, buy only locally grown and harvested firewood. When camping, buy your firewood near your destination and burn all that you bring. You can read more about firewood safety on our site or at Don’t Move Firewood.

Emerald ash borer educational materials, including ID cards and brochures, are available through the Kansas Department of Agriculture's Plant Protection and Weed Control program. Call us at (785) 564-6698 or e-mail your name and address to KDA.PPWC@ks.gov.

Calls us or email us too, if you think you may have found symptoms of an emerald ash borer infestation in non-quarantine counties in Kansas. If you suspect emerald ash borer symptoms on trees in quarantine counties, please call your county extension agent.

Additional Info

• A visual guide to detecting emerald ash borer damage
• Common Problems of Ash Trees
• Don’t Move Firewood
• Early Detection & Distribution Mapping System (EDDMapS)
• Emerald Ash Borer CSI: Your Ash Trees
• Emerald Ash Borer ID Guide
• Emerald ash borer ID video
• Emerald Ash Borer Information Network
• Find a certified arborist

Visit the KDA's Plant Diseases page.

You Can Help

Thousand cankers disease poses a serious threat to the health of black walnut trees, which are economically important for their nuts and lumber.

The Kansas Department of Agriculture, Kansas Forest Service and Kansas State University Research & Extension need your aid to help stop the introduction and to limit the spread of this disease in Kansas. We are deeply concerned that if it reaches the native range of black walnuts in central and eastern Kansas, we may lose this tree in our urban and native forests.

Currently, the disease is known to exist in the nearby states of Colorado and New Mexico. Colorado scientists believe that the disease was brought into its urban areas by moving infected wood either as firewood or for woodworking. Wood, bark, and chips with beetles and cankers are highly contagious and should not be moved off a site for three years. Do not bring in walnut wood from out-of-state sources. You can read more about firewood safety on our site or at Don’t Move Firewood.

Thousand Cankers Disease of walnut is a progressive disease that kills a tree within two to three years after initial infection. Trees early in the disease cycle will initially show signs of decline with symptoms of yellowing and thinning. Advanced symptoms are falling branches with leaves still attached. The tell-tale signs of the disease manifests as numerous blank cankers about the size of a dime just under the bark. Access more detailed information on the disease from Colorado State University here.

Additional Info

• Don’t Move Firewood
• ThousandCankers.com
• United States Department of Agriculture-Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service

 

Firewood and its Hazards to Native and Urban Trees in Kansas

Firewood that is untreated poses a substantial pest risk to the trees of Kansas. Firewood frequently originates from a tree that has died or in decline.  Causes of tree death or decline are numerous but some are drought, excessive water and can include disease or insect pests. Wood intended for firewood from a tree which has compromised health due to an insect or a disease pathogen is problematic and a risk to spread pests to new trees and locations.

For the landowner, one of the best pest control measures is to remove the infected or diseased tree and then destroy the wood. However, many use the wood for firewood.  What happens when the wood is used for firewood and is moved either short or long distances and not burned in the short term?

Firewood, until it is burned, becomes a carrier of the pest, disease or fungus which occurred in the tree before it was cut for firewood.  A landowner or firewood dealer runs the risk of moving the pest from one location to another or infesting new trees in the immediate location where firewood stacks are located when the wood is stored or seasoned for a period of time.  When the firewood is moved from its original area, be it short or long distances, pests can rapidly move into new locations and environments that under normal, natural spread circumstances may take many years to occur, if at all.  This firewood movement can be by individuals or commercially.

In Kansas, firewood has been documented to have moved diseases and insects of oaks, elm, pines, ash and hickory to name a few.  Pine wilt (see image to the right of the insect vector - pine sawyer beetle), oak wilt, Dutch elm disease, and many borers and bark beetles have been moved farther than their natural spread by firewood.

The State of Kansas and USDA quarantines regulated wood moving into the state from out of state sources and many campgrounds restrict the use of firewood to local sources.  For more information please refer to the following webpages concerning Thousand Cankers of Walnut, Pine Wilt, and Emerald Ash Borer and their risk to moving pests.  When camping, contact the campground for firewood restrictions before hauling firewood on your trip.

Guidelines for Buying and Harvesting Firewood

1. Buy or harvest locally.When you buy or harvest firewood from trees of local origin, then you reduce the risk of introducing a new pest into your neighborhood woodlands. Local origin is often defined as being within twenty to thirty miles.
2. Season wood at or near the site of harvest. Some wood such as oak may take a year to two years to season. This provides a lot of time for insects or fungus spores to migrate out of the wood into nearby woodlands. To avoid moving pests, season near the site of harvest but away from specialty trees of higher value. Seasoning wood directly on bare ground increases the chance of termite infestation and something to be avoided.
3. If you are buying firewood that is commercially sold, look for wood carrying a USDA emblem or state sticker/declaration regarding kiln drying or removed bark. Both treatments reduce the risk for movement of pests.
4. Trees with mushrooms, galls, darkened discoloration of the bark or wood, borer holes, or trees such as elms, oaks and pines that suddenly die are at a higher risk for moving pests. The wood from these trees should be avoided and when cut should be burned as soon as possible in an outside burn pile (check local regulations regarding burning and burn permits). Chipping or burying wood are other methods for disposal of these trees susceptible to higher pest risks. If intended for firewood, do not move the wood from the local area.
5. If moving to a new residence outside of your local area, leave the firewood at the old residence. The new residents will appreciate it.

Asian longhorned beetle is an invasive longhorned beetle (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) that are 0.75–1.25 inches long with a glossy jet-black body and mottled with white spots. The long antennae are 1.5–2.5 times the body length with distinctive white bands at the base of each article. The tarsi and antennae may have a bluish tinge.

Asian longhorned beetle is native to East Asia and their larvae are destructive feeders of a diversity of trees that are popular urban landscape trees, and trees common and important to the native ecosystems. Adults are poor dispersers, so it is unlikely they will enter Kansas naturally. As with many wood-boring insects, the most likely means of spread is human mediated such as by the movement of wood products (e.g. wood pallets) and firewood. You can read more about at Don’t Move Firewood.

Asian longhorned beetle is continuously on the radar of Kansas Department of Agriculture. Additionally, we ask that citizens are aware of this invasive pest and keep a lookout for this beetle. In Kansas, Asian longhorned beetle is commonly mistaken with cottonwood borer. If you suspect an Asian longhorned beetle citing, please submit a photo to KDA.PPWC@ks.gov.

Additional Info:

• United States Department of Agriculture-Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service
• Center for Invasive Species Research