The New Jersey Department of Agriculture (NJDA) said that the beetle spreads fast and that municipalities need to be prepared.
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Emerald ash borers are metallic green in color and about a half-inch long by one-eighth inch wide – no larger than a penny.
An “invasive” and “highly destructive” beetle has been reportedly found in three New Jersey counties, the state’s department of agriculture reported Monday.
According to officials, municipal officials and residents of Bridgewater and Hillsborough in Somerset County, Westampton in Burlington County and Ewing and West Windsor in Mercer County are encouraged to visit the New Jersey Emerald Ash Borer website www.emeraldashborer.nj.gov where they can find resources on how to protect their ash trees or what to do with dead or dying trees.
“Now that the beetle is in New Jersey and is starting to spread, we ask that towns put plans in place to respond to the beetle”, Fisher said. Monmouth, Morris, Somerset and Union counties.
According to the experts, the insect was first spotted in Michigan in 2002. Traps were set in ash trees to track the spreading of the invasive pest in 27 towns from Burlington County, eight towns in Hunterdon County, three Camden County towns, and more.
Emerald tree borers have by now, reached 25 states and two Canadian provinces – all regions with ash trees for these insects to lay their eggs.
Originally from Asia, the emerald ash borer attacks and destroys the species of ash trees of North America.
There is treatment to prevent it boring into and destroying trees, but there is a major problem in identifying trees – most people cannot identify the leaf pattern of an ash and wouldn’t know if they have an ash tree in their yard or at the curb. Hatched larvae bore into the bark, killing the tree in three to five years.
Faced with the scale of the threat of devastation posed by the emerald ash borer, the City has organized its first action plan to save our ash trees.
The agriculture department recommends not moving firewood, a vehicle for movement of tree-killing forest pests, including emerald ash borer.
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