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Drive down any rural road in Ohio and odds are you’ll see some kind of ash tree in a fencerow, a windbreak or in someone’s front yard. Those farm uses could be in jeopardy if a tiny green pest isn’t eradicated.

You may have heard about the impact emerald ash borer is having on the nursery and landscape business throughout Ohio, Michigan, Maryland and Ontario, Canada. Ashes play an important role on farms throughout Ohio and the nation, according to Dan Herms, an entomologist at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster. Herms also is a member of the Ohio Emerald Ash Borer Task Force.

"When we were helping do the survey up in Hicksville, it seemed about every farm had a white ash in the front yard as a shade tree," Herms said. White ash is also a high value tree in woodlots and green ash is a common tree in flood plains, in buffer areas and along waterways, he said.

First identified in Ohio in February 2003, the emerald ash borer (EAB) is an exotic wood-boring pest that can kill ashes in as little as one year and poses a serious threat to Ohio’s forests and wood-manufacturing, nursery and landscaping industries.

EAB has been identified in Lucas, Defiance, Paulding, Wood and Franklin counties. The best method to eradicate the pest is destruction and burning of all infected ashes and any ashes within half a mile of the infestation.

"Unfortunately, the eradication program entails cutting down apparently healthy trees that are growing in the proximity of infested ashes," Herms said. "The reason for this is that in the first year, infested trees show no symptoms, so it’s important to determine which trees surrounding the visibly infested trees are actually infected. To be sure that the infestation is eliminated, all ashes in the vicinity of the visibly infected trees need to be destroyed."

Herms said the state’s current eradication program should be aggressive enough to get rid of the tiny pest.

"The key points to emphasize right now are that (Ohio’s) infestations are very localized, so the vast majority of (Ohio’s ash trees) are not at risk," he said. "After the eradication programs that are under way right now are completed, there won’t be any known infested trees in the state."

But, to be on the safe side, people still should know what to look for:

• Distinct, D-shaped exit holes in the bark.
• Serpentine-shaped tunnels under the bark on the surface of the wood.
• Young sprout growth clustered at the base of the tree.
• Unusual activity by woodpeckers.
• Dieback on the top third of the tree.
• Vertical splits in the bark.

There are about 3.8 billion ash trees growing in Ohio, according to a 1991 forest survey. They are found in every Ohio county and represent about 2.1 billion board feet of standing ash timber – worth about $1 billion at the sawmill.

One thing farmers may notice as a result of the EAB eradication program is that more tools could show up with plastic rather than ash handles, Herms said. A tool factory in Hicksville had to cease operations for awhile after the infestation in that area of Ohio, he said.

Residents are being asked to not transport any firewood or other ash material from infested areas of the state to reduce the risk of accidentally spreading the pest. It also is illegal to bring any ash material or firewood into Ohio from Michigan.

If you notice any symptoms on ash trees on your property, contact the Ohio Department of Agriculture at 888-OHIO-EAB. For more information, visit www.ofbf.org and click on Featured Links.

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This small pest is causing big trouble in southeast Michigan, Maryland and some counties in Ohio. (Photo courtesy Howard Russell, Michigan State University)