–Iowa now has confirmed cases of the Emerald Ash Borer in all 99 counties after a sample from Emmet County has come back positive for the tree killing insect.
According to a release from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, insect samples were collected from a declining Ash tree in Armstrong earlier this month and sent to the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for testing.
With this positive case, the state has now had confirmed cases in every county since the non-native, wood boring insect was first found in Allamakee County back in 2010. The Emerald Ash Borer was first discovered in Kossuth County back in July of 2022.
Emerald Ash Borer has been found in 37 states across the country since it was first discovered in Michigan back in 2002, as it was previously unknown to North America.
Landowners with Ash trees on their property should begin to consider a course of action for at-risk trees, which are generally within a 15-mile radius of a known infection.
