Traps raised in forests for ash pest

FLINTSTONE, Md. (AP) — Seth Moessinger yanks on a white cord and hoists a bright purple box high into the branches of an ash tree.

The triangular, 2-foot-tall contraption resembles a wayward kite, but its outer walls are smeared with glue. Inside hangs a plastic bag of pungent manuka oil, broadcasting the scent of a distressed ash tree to insects up to three-quarters of a mile away.

The device is a trap for the emerald ash borer, an invasive, destructive pest responsible for the loss of more than 30 million trees in Michigan, Illinois, Ohio and Indiana since 2002. Maryland Agriculture Department workers are setting hundreds of them in Allegany, Garrett, Anne Arundel, Prince George’s, Charles, Calvert, St. Mary’s, Montgomery and Howard counties to monitor for the bugs.

The half-inch green beetles were introduced to southern Prince George’s County in 2003 after a Michigan nurseryman illegally shipped infested ash trees into the state. Nearly 37,000 ash trees have been removed from that area in what state agriculture officials hope was a successful eradication effort.

But ash borers turned up last year in neighboring Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and authorities fear they will ride into Maryland on firewood carried by campers despite the state’s voluntary ban on firewood imports, imposed a year ago.

“Our challenge is to eradicate the emerald ash borer or at least keep it from spreading, so we hope we don’t find any in these traps,” Agriculture Secretary Roger L. Richardson said.

Workers are setting the traps along travel routes and in campgrounds like the one in Rocky Gap State Park where Mr. Moessinger, a field technician, was yesterday morning. He and co-worker Nathan Bennett are placing 369 traps across Garrett and western Allegany counties, guided by a grid map that places each trap near the center of a 1.5-mile square.

The adult insects typically emerge from beneath the tree bark in mid-May, leaving D-shaped holes in the bark. They feed on the leaves until early August, starting near the top of the canopy and working their way down until the tree is bare.

When placing traps, “the higher in the tree the better,” Mr. Moessinger said.

The worst damage is done by the larvae, which feed on the inner bark of ash trees, leaving serpentine tunnels that disrupt the tree’s ability to transport water and nutrients. It takes one to three years for an infested tree to die.

Yesterday, Gov. Martin O’Malley, a Democrat, declared May 18-24 Emerald Ash Borer Awareness Week, encouraging woodland visitors to leave firewood at home, buy it at their destination and burn it completely.

Since ash is used for baseball bats, the awareness effort includes a summer-long campaign with the minor-league Bowie Baysox, starting with promotions at the May 24 and May 28 home games.