Emerald Ash borer found in Keokuk County

The state's first confirmed emerald ash borer infestation of the year likely will not be the last.

The tree-killing pest has been positively identified in Hedrick, making Keokuk County the 19th Iowa county in which a borer infestation has been confirmed.

'With the recent discoveries in nearby areas announced in December, this find is no real surprise,” said Mike Kintner, Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship's emerald ash borer and gypsy moth coordinator.

As with several other recent finds, evidence of woodpecker activity led to the removal of an ash tree branch, in which ash borer larva was found.

Winter is an opportune time to scout for signs such as light-colored bark, flecking and holes drilled by feeding woodpeckers, Kintner said.

State officials last month announced a spate of infestations in the contiguous counties of Lucas, Appanoose, Mahaska, Marion and Monroe.

Keokuk County shares a border with Mahaska and a corner with Monroe.

A statewide quarantine, issued a year ago, restricts movement of hardwood firewood, ash logs, wood chips and ash tree nursery stock out of Iowa into non-quarantined areas of other states.

Noting that much of the state has yet to show signs of an emerald ash borer infestation, state entomologist Robin Pruisner urged Iowans to 'keep those areas EAB-free as long as possible by not moving wood that potentially harbors EAB or other tree pests.”

The next window for preventive treatment measures - trunk injection, soil injection, soil drench or basal trunk sprays - will run from mid-April to mid-May.

Iowa's emerald ash borer team recommends that landowners interested in protecting ash trees within 15 miles of a known infestation should have landscape and tree service companies bid on work over the winter.

In 2010, when the state's first infestation was confirmed in Allamakee County, Iowa became the 14th ash borer-infested state.

Today, 24 states have ash borer infestations.