Evaluation of firewood bagging and vacuum treatment for regulatory control of emerald ash borer

Since its discovery in Detroit, Michigan, in 2002, the emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), has caused extensive mortality of ash (Fraxinus spp.) as it has spread across southeast Michigan, Ohio, and Ontario, Canada (Haack et al. 2002, Poland and McCullough 2006). In addition to this core infested area, numerous outlier populations have been found throughout Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, Ohio, Indiana, and Ontario, Canada, as well as isolated infestations in Maryland, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Spread of A. planipennis is a result of natural dispersal and human-assisted movement of infested materials, including movement of ash nursery stock, logs, and firewood. Agrilus planipennis can survive and emerge from logs cut from infested trees; therefore, movement of ash logs from infested to uninfested counties is regulated by a federal quarantine (USDA APHIS 2003). In the case of firewood, all hardwood species are regulated because inspectors cannot easily identify the species of tree that was cut. Nevertheless, A. planipennis has continued to spread, and new outlier infestations, possibly due to human-assisted movement of infested material prior to enactment of the quarantine, have been detected each year.