LANSING, Mich. - Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) Director Don Koivisto today announced that insects collected this summer on traps in Chippewa and Alger counties have been confirmed as emerald ash borer (EAB). The insects were found as part of a National EAB Survey program in the Upper Peninsula (U.P.).  One adult was confirmed on a trap in Munising in Alger County; and 11 adults were confirmed on a trap near Brimley in Chippewa County. 

The National EAB Survey was completed, in part, through the work of U.P. conservation districts. MDA staff is currently working to identify the source of the beetles in both locations.  The positive trap in Chippewa County was from an area currently under quarantine and near Brimley State Park where an eradication effort took place in 2006. 

"MDA and its partners will be working to determine the extent of the infestation in these two areas, which will be vital as we revise the state's interior EAB quarantine to include these new areas," said Ken Rauscher, MDA's Pesticide and Plant Pest Management Division Director.  "It remains critical that ash materials and hardwood firewood not be removed from the quarantined and Munising areas except under the guidelines of a state and/or federal compliance agreement."

The SL.owing A.sh M.ortality (SLAM) Pilot Project continues in Mackinac County focusing in and around the EAB infestations at Moran and St. Ignace.  SLAM is a collaborative effort involving the United State Department of Agriculture Forest Service (USDA-FS), USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), MDA, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the Chippewa/East Mackinac Conservation District, and scientists from Michigan State University and Michigan Technological University.  There is a shared goal of developing an integrated management plan for EAB sites that can eventually be used in other states employing a combination of suppression tactics to slow the rate at which EAB populations build and spread. 

Researchers with USDA- APHIS and USDA- FS are studying bio-control agents, such as wasps, which could eventually become an important tool for managing EAB.  Researchers have also been studying insecticides that can be used to control EAB.  One of the insecticides currently available for managing EAB is emamectin benzoate.  If applied properly, it can potentially control EAB for up to two years.

Emerald Ash Borer is an exotic, aggressive beetle native to Asia and was discovered in southeast Michigan in 2002. To date, the pest is responsible for the death or damage of millions of ash trees in Michigan.

For more information about EAB, including compliance agreement and quarantine information, please visit one of these Web sites: www.michigan.gov/eabor www.emeraldashborer.info. You may also call the MDA EAB toll-free Hotline at 1-866-325-0023 or your local Michigan State University Extension or conservation district offices.

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