The Kansas Department of Agriculture along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed the presence of emerald ash borer in Doniphan County, Kansas.

On March 31, 2017, several larvae were removed by KDA staff from an ash tree in a native stand of timber in rural Doniphan County near the town of Bendena.

Regulatory officials with USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s Plant Protection and Quarantine confirmed the presence of the pest on April 4.

After confirmation, Kansas will expand the EAB quarantine, currently in place in Atchison, Douglas, Jefferson, Johnson, Leavenworth and Wyandotte counties, to include Doniphan County to help slow the spread of EAB in Kansas. If Kansans outside of the quarantined areas think any of their trees may have the pest, they should notify KDA immediately at (785) 564-6698 or [email protected].

Emerald ash borer, a pest of ash trees native to Asia, was first discovered in North America near Detroit, Michigan, in summer 2002. Since that time, the pest has killed millions of ash trees in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

KDA is committed to serving Kansas farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses, and to protecting the state’s natural resources. All Kansans will play an important role in monitoring for EAB. In cooperation with the USDA, the Kansas Forest Service and K-State Research and Extension, KDA plans to host educational meetings in Doniphan County to provide information and to ensure that all necessary facilities and individuals are equipped to treat and dispose of EAB-infested material properly.

To learn the most current information on the quarantine, visit http://agriculture.ks.gov/EAB. To learn more about EAB, visit www.emeraldashborer.info.