MOORHEAD (KFGO) – Clay County is the 39th county in Minnesota with a confirmed case of Emerald Ash Borer after a Moorhead city forester found evidence of the disease while pruning trees.
According to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, the tree had visible woodpecker damage, and when the bark was peeled back galleries and insect larvae were present. Department of Agriculture staff collected the suspected larvae samples and federal identification confirmed emerald ash borer.
The first case of Emerald Ash Borer was discovered in 2009.
Emerald Ash Borer larvae kill ash trees by tunneling under the bark and feeding on the part of the tree that moves nutrients up and down the trunk. Woodpeckers feed on the larvae, and woodpecker holes may indicate the presence of Emerald Ash Borer. Tunneling can cause the bark to split open, revealing characteristic S-shaped galleries underneath.
The Department of Agriculture is enacting an emergency quarantine in the western part of Clay County, from Highway 9 to the North Dakota Border. The quarantine limits the movement of firewood and ash material out of the area.
This case is the first in northwestern Minnesota.
More information about Emerald Ash Borer can be found by clicking here.
