Tree Pests & Diseases.
Don't Move Firewood
In an effort to protect the trees of Ohio from multiple pest infestations that threaten the health and viability of the state’s hardwood forests, the movement of firewood and certain tree products is tightly regulated by both state and federal authorities in Ohio.
In Butler County, the movement of nearly all types of hardwood products is prohibited. Regulated materials that should NOT be removed from Butler County include hardwood nursery stock, unprocessed lumber, or any other type of hardwood material, such as logs, stumps, roots, branches, mulch, wood chips, or any firewood (including firewood that is kiln-dried, seasoned, or green).
Learn more at www.dontmovefirewood.org.
Information on Asian Longhorned Beetle, Emerald Ash Borer, and Thousand Cankers Disease - all impacting southwest Ohio - can be viewed below. For information on additional tree pests and diseases, view the Insect Pests & Diseases Poster and follow the QR codes.
Asian Longhorned Beetle
The Asian Longhorned Beetle (Anopliphora glabripennis) is a large insect native to Southeast Asia that was first discovered in the United States in the mid 1990s in New York. The Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) has no known natural predators and poses a threat to Ohio’s hardwood forests. This invasive beetle is not a species-specific pest, but targets many different species of trees.
Discovered in Clermont County in 2011, Ohio is the fifth state to find ALB. The Federal government is working in conjunction with local governments and professional arborists to combat it. ALB was successfully eradicated in Illinois and parts of New Jersey, and is currently being controlled in New York and Massachusetts. With the help of local citizens reporting known infestations it can be controlled in Ohio as well.
Signs of Asian Longhorned Beetle infestation include perfectly round exit holes (about 3/8 to 1/2 inch in diameter) made by adult beetles when they emerge from trees; pockmarks on tree trunks and branches where female beetles deposit eggs; frass (wood shavings and saw dust) produced by larval feeding and tunneling; early fall coloration of leaves or dead branches; and running sap produced by the tree at the egg laying sites, or in response to larval tunneling. Infested trees may also snap or break during high winds due to the wood being weakened by tunneling. Please report potential infestations to the Ohio Department of Agriculture at 855.252.6450 or plantpest@agri.ohio.gov.
Additional ALB resources:
Emerald Ash Borer
The Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) is native to eastern Asia, first seen in the United States near Detroit in 2002. The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) has no native predators and has spread throughout all of Ohio, and much of the eastern United States. The insect matures just beneath the bark of ash trees, eating vascular tissue of the tree which ultimately leads to the tree’s death. All species of ash are affected and the mortality rate nears 100%.
Additional EAB resources:
Emerald Ash Borer Information Network - multi-state organization for EAB management
Audubon Miami Valley Ash Tree Project
Thousand Cankers Disease
Thousand Cankers Disease (TCD) primarily affects black walnut trees, as well as other species of walnut, and is caused by a fungus (Geosmithia sp.) transported by the walnut twig beetle (Pityophthorus juglandis) – a type of bark beetle. Discovered in Colorado in 2003, TCD has caused the widespread death of black walnuts in many western states over the last decade. TCD was first reported in Ohio in late 2012 and has been confirmed in Butler County.
Signs and symptoms of TCD include thinning crowns, yellowing or wilted leaves in the crown, and limbs that died recently. The fungus causes distinctive circular to oblong cankers in the phloem under the bark. The bark surface may have no symptoms, or dark amber to black stain or cracking of the bark may occur directly above a canker. Numerous tiny bark beetle entrance and exit holes are visible on dead and dying branches. Please report suspected walnut trees impacted by TCD to the Ohio Department of Agriculture at 855.252.6450 or plantpest@agri.ohio.gov.
Learn more by visiting the following websites: