(Boone County, Ky.) – More than 2.2 million ash trees in Boone County may be endangered following the discovery of the emerald ash borer.

Emerald ash borer

The tree-killing insect was found in a trap designed to catch ash borers located in the Thornewilde neighborhood in Hebron earlier this month.

The EAB has previously been found in Kenton and Campbell counties in northern Kentucky, as well as Ripley County in southeast Indiana and Hamilton County in southwest Ohio.

Because of its proximity to other counties where the insect has been found, Boone County was previously placed under quarantine for wood items which the insect can burrow into.  Materials like hardwood firewood, ash nursery stock, green ash lumber, and other ash material cannot be transported into or out of the county.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the metallic green insect has killed tens of millions of ash trees in southeastern Michigan alone, with tens of millions more lost in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Quebec, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

For more information on how to identify trees infested by the ash borer and how to help treat them visit the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture’s ash borer webpage, http://pest.ca.uky.edu/EXT/EAB/welcome.html.