Report suspected infestations to the USDA APHIS Emerald Ash Borer Hotline (866) 322-4512 or the Office of the State Entomologist - (859) 257-5838.

EAB can be spread by moving infested firewood. Here is a Don't Move Firewood poster to use as a reminder.

Kentucky Findings - Positive findings represent counties in which EAB activity and adults or larvae have been found at a site. It does not mean that the insect is active in the entire county. The possible findings list includes counties where trees exhibit D-shaped exit holes but no adult or larval specimens have been found.

Positive findings-
• Fayette
• Franklin
• Jefferson
• Jessamine
• Kenton
• Shelby

Possible findings-
• Campbell Co - awaiting confirmation of specimens

Ky EAB Quarantine

State officials have issued a quarantine for 20 Kentucky counties regulating the transportation outside those counties of articles that could harbor the emerald ash borer. The quarantine prohibits “regulated articles” from being moved outside a quarantined area without a certificate or limited permit except under certain conditions. A regulated article may be moved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the Kentucky Department of Agriculture for experimental or scientific purposes; may be moved in an enclosed vehicle or completely covered to prevent access by the emerald ash borer (through Sept. 30); may be moved directly through the quarantined area without stopping except for traffic conditions and refueling; may be moved if it is stored, packed or handled at locations that do not pose a risk of infestation; and may be moved if it has not been combined or commingled with other articles.

“Regulated articles” are defined as the emerald ash borer, hardwood firewood, ash nursery stock, green ash lumber, other ash material, and any other materials that present a threat of artificial spread of the emerald ash borer.

The counties under quarantine are Boone, Bourbon, Campbell, Carroll, Fayette, Franklin, Gallatin, Grant, Harrison, Henry, Jefferson, Jessamine, Kenton, Oldham, Owen, Pendleton, Scott, Shelby, Trimble and Woodford. The quarantined area includes the seven counties where the emerald ash borer has been identified – Campbell, Fayette, Franklin, Jefferson, Jessamine, Kenton and Shelby – plus counties close to an infestation site and counties with a high density of ash trees.

Follow this link to the complete June 24 news release that announced the quarantine.

Quick Ash Facts for Kentucky

According to the Ky Division of Forestry, there are 130.9 million stems of white ash and 92.5 million stems of green ash in the Commonwealth. This USDA Forest Service map shows the numbers of ash trees in KY by county based on a 2006 Forest Inventory and Analysis.

This USDA Forest Service list shows the numbers of ash stems by county with ranking based on a 2006 Forest Inventory and Analysis. Elliot county is not listed.

The Forest Invertory and Analysis Factsheet for Kentucky 2004 states that the elm-ash-cottonwood component is 6% of the Commonwealth's 11.7 million forested acres. This type has been defined as the lowland forests where American elm (Ulmus americana), green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides) or silver maple (Acer saccharinum) comprise singly, or in any combination, the largest component of stocking. It occupies a large but irregular area on the floodplains and bottomlands of the north central United States. (Shifley and Brown 1978).

Ash component of Boone, Campbell, and Kenton counties is estimated at 14.5% of more than 56 million trees. White ash (F. americana) is the predominant species followed by green ash, and blue ash (F. quadrangulata). (Ky Div Forestry 2007)

Based on a 2005 Lexington street tree survey, ash species comprised almost 11% of about 51,000 street trees. It is estimated that there are more than 10,000 ash trees in the Urban Service Area. (LFUCG 2007)

The ash component of Louisville's tree population is 17%. About 5% of the trees in the Waterfront Development are ash. (Louisville City Arborist and Management of Waterfront Development.

The first two confirmed infestations of the emerald ash borer in Kentucky were found in 2009. More information is available in this news release.

The purple traps seen hanging in trees along some Ky roadways are designed to capture emerald ash borer adults. More information is available in this news release.

Follow this link to the EAB current distribution map.

Identifying the EAB

This brochure provides an easy-to-follow checklist to help recognize ash trees, EAB infestation symptoms, and emergence holes.

There are a lot of green insects around that can be confused with the emerald ash borer. The picture below (courtesy of the Missouri Dept Agriculture) shows an EAB along with several look-alikes. The line-up includes (top row L-R): EAB, a bark gnawing beetle (family Trogossitidae), Buprestis rufipes, green June beetle, and the caterpillar hunter. (bottom row L-R) Japanese beetle, a green tiger beetle, green stinkbug, dogbane beetle, and a metallic bee. The picture shows relative sizes and shapes of these insects.

2009 EAB Activities

The 2009 trapping plan (pink band) for 2009 calls for placement of about 6,000 traps to survey for EAB adults. As in 2008, sites will include nurseries, state parks, campgrounds, and sawmills. Also, traps will be placed in areas with high tourist traffic - Land Between the Lakes, Bernheim Arboretum, Mammoth Cave Mational Park and Lake Cumberland.

The following sites have been visited in response to reports of dying trees:

• May 29 Borer damage in Woodford Co ash trees was not EAB.
• May 21 Dead trees in Barren Co were not ash trees, no sign of EAB. Dying trees at campground near Mammoth Cave not ash trees.
• May 4 Large grove of ash in Independence (Kenton Co) visited non-EAB borer holes and epicormic growth but no evidence of EAB.
• April - Single residences in Boone, Grant and Kenton countied visited, ash trees but no sign of EAB activity.
• March 18 Wooded residential site in Cold Spring (Campbell Co) visited, dying trees but no ash present. Ash trees along nature trail in E. S. Pendry Park inspected but no infested trees found.
• March 17 Commercial site in Versailles (Woodford Co.) visited, dying ash trees present, No sign of EAB activity.
• March 10 Residential ash tree checked in Florence (Boone Co), no sign of EAB activity.
• Feb 20 Wooded area in Union (Boone Co) had ash trees but no sign of EAB activity.
• Jan 22 and 23 two residential lots in Melbourne and Camp Springs (Campbell County) contained ash trees but no sign of EAB activity.

Movement of infested firewood is a major means of spreading the emerald ash borer. Quarantines have been established in states with confirmed infestations to stop the spread of the insect through infested wood products. Buy local firewood.

• Indiana
• Ohio
• Illinois
• Michigan

The North-Central IPM Bulletin Insecticide Options for Protecting Trees from Emerald Ash Borer provides valuable information on control alterntatives for the borer.

USDA Forest Service EAB site