Emerald Ash Borer Awareness Week starts May 20

(KNOX) – Emerald Ash Borer has not been detected in North Dakota… and the City of Fargo is taking measures to keep it that way.

Emerald Ash Borer Awareness Week kicks off Monday, May 20, to increase public awareness about the threat EAB poses to ash trees in Fargo and North Dakota.

EAB was detected in the neighboring city of Moorhead, Minnesota in 2003. It has spread to 35 states, including Minnesota, since 2002.

The fastest method for spreading the pest is firewood.

North Dakota residents should consider a treatment plan for high-value ash trees within the next one to two years; treatments can be less costly than tree removal.

If you do not implement a treatment plan, consider replacing trees with a non-ash species as soon as possible. Waiting until the tree is dead will be more costly and a potential liability.

EAB attacks all species of North American ash trees. The larvae feed on the soft layer of wood just under the bark that moves water and nutrients throughout the tree.