Another victory in the Asian Longhorned Beetle battle

PPQ’s Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) Eradication Program in Ohio celebrated another victory—the ALB quarantine is officially 7.5 square miles smaller! This invasive beetle from Asia is a destructive wood-boring pest that feeds on maple and other hardwoods, eventually killing them. After completing their final round of tree inspection surveys, the ALB staff reported no sign of the beetle in a portion of East Fork State Park in Clermont County, Ohio. 

“Inspecting ALB host trees is painstaking work, and the staff meticulously survey for the pest,” said ALB National Policy Manager Kathryn Bronsky. “It’s been three years since the last time we’ve lifted ALB quarantine restrictions in Ohio, and this is the first removal of the initial area placed under quarantine. That makes this success especially gratifying.” 

In 2018, there were two other smaller areas in Ohio removed from ALB quarantine; one in Monroe Township and the other that included adjacent portions of Batavia Township and Stonelick Township. Today PPQ and the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) continue to regulate and conduct eradication activities in the remaining 49-square-mile ALB quarantine in Tate Township, and portions of Batavia and Williamsburg townships and East Fork State Park. 

To read the full article, visit www.aphis.usda.gov.