2 New Pests Found In Alabama

Bug lovers, it’s time to celebrate. Plan a party. Invite other aficionados.

For the rest of us, in the Alabama Pest Control business, however, there may not be any reason to rejoice. In the south, two new pests have been discovered. As if we all don’t have enough to worry about, the monsters are no longer on the horizon. They’re here.

An Asian Invasion

This thing was first discovered in the Motor City back in 2002. Since then it has hit many states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Word is they’ve hopped a freight and have now been spotted in Alabama.

Emerald Ash Borer Alabama

 

It’s the Emerald Ash Borer. Skipping over the border from Tennessee to Alabama. First found at a truck stop in Knox County in east Tennessee.

Finding the Darned Thing

It’s not easy to know when your tree is under attack. The damage is caused by the larvae of this Far East insect. It creates these things called galleries, then the babies feed on stuff just under the bark of infected tree.

The effect is it pretty much stops the flow of nutrients and water. You’ll probably first detect something’s amiss when you start to see branches die in the plant’s upper crown. Another sign is that the bark that runs vertically on the tree begins to split. By the time you figure out what’s going on, too late. It’s already spread to nearby trees. Hate to break it to you, but in a couple of years you’ll be holding a tree funeral from the infestation.

One reason why you might find the cost of wood from an ash tree going up. The Emerald Ash Borer.

And since this destroyer is non-native, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has issued a federal quarantine supporting border-to-border action to control this tree-killer.

Curtain Number Two

Redbay Ambrosia Beetle Alabama

 

Another gift from Asia is the Redbay Ambrosia Beetle. When this critter assaults, the tree comes-down with a bad case of Laurel Wilt Disease. It’s hitting the southern border of Alabama as we speak.

Recent reports demonstrate that there are less-and-less redbay trees in the state.

What’s Vulnerable?

A bunch of trees. Mostly in the laurel family. Here’s a list:

  • Sassafras
  • Avocado
  • Redbay
  • Camphor
  • Pondspice
  • Swamp bay
  • Spicebush

As the problem progresses you’ll initially see wilting leaves that appear colored red or purple. The entire crown will show these tell-tale signs. It doesn’t wait for its host to get sick. It will cling onto a perfectly healthy tree. The bug isn’t the thing that kills the plant, it’s the associated fungus which handles the dirty work. The stuff likewise causes black-to-brown streaks in the sapwood. As the matter gets critical, a swarm of ambrosia beetles will eat the wood. Death comes to the species infected in just a few years.

We thought we were, excuse the pun, out of the woods. But back in 2010, a pair of the critters were caught in a trap located in Mobile County, Alabama just north of Grand Bay.

Nothing to cheer about. Even for folks who are card-carrying members of The Coleopterists Society are not smiling with the reports. Really, there is actually a group of people dedicated to this. As they write on their website, “The Coleopterists Society is an international organization devoted to the study of all aspects of systematics and biology of beetles of the world.”

Might wanna join. We hear the dues are pretty inexpensive.

Original Source: https://www.vulcantermite.com/garden-pest-control/2-new-pests-found-in-alabama

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