Emerald Ash Borer Boxes
Published: Jun. 12, 2008
URBANA - Those purple-colored, box-kite-looking devices hanging in over 3,000 places around Illinois are there for an important purpose, said a University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator.
"It's a sticky trap that Illinois Department of Agriculture officials and cooperators are using to identify infestations of the invasive pest, Emerald Ash Borer (EAB)," said Martha Smith, who is based at the Macomb Extension Center. "Approximately 2,700 are being placed in the 100-mile buffer zone outside the last known infested area. An additional 750 traps are located in the metro Chicago area while another 250 are in other areas across the state identified as high risk."
The traps are hung in trees to help monitor if and where EAB is located. These traps will not bring EAB to a non-infested site.
"The traps will simply detect if the beetle is already there," she said. "The trap uses Manuka oil as an attraction agent to lure the beetle to it. The surface is sticky, so the beetle stays where it lands."
Smith emphasized that public cooperation with the project is important. If a trap has fallen from a tree, contact the Illinois Department of Agriculture at 1-800-641-3934 and give specific location details.
"The traps have been hung to correspond with EAB emergence," she said. "EAB adults will be present May through August. The traps will be removed systematically after the flight season is complete."
People should be on the lookout for EAB even where the traps aren't present.
"EAB is difficult to detect, especially in newly infested trees," she said. "You should watch for metallic-green beetles that can sit easily on the face of a penny. If you find a green beetle bigger than the width of a penny, it is not Emerald Ash Borer.
"Other signs of infestation in ash trees include D-shaped holes in the bark of the trunk or branches and shoots growing from its base."
For more information on the traps, visit http://www.IllinoisEAB.com and there is also information at another website (http://www.agr.state.il.us/eab/data/200804161350.pdf).
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