August 15, 2008
Ash borer is confirmed in three more Ontario centres
Within a span of nine days, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced confirmations of the presence of emerald ash borer (EAB) in three more Ontario cities.
In Brampton, an infestation was found on July 16 in the Dixie Road and Steeles Avenue area, while in Oakville, infested trees were found on July 24 in the 8th Line and Highway 403-QEW area. The following day, an area in Ottawa was also deemed infested with EAB. The area is within the St. Laurent Boulevard and Highway 417.
The beetle does not spread quickly on its own. In fact, it is most commonly spread when people move materials which the insect has infested. Moving these materials even just a few kilometres away can spread the emerald ash borer to new areas. Quarantines on the movement of ash trees will affect nurseries in the confirmed areas.
The CFIA says it will carry out increased surveying of trees in the areas to determine the extent of the infestation and affected property owners will be notified. Regulatory measures to control this pest will be taken based on information obtained through the surveys.
The emerald ash borer is highly destructive to ash trees and was discovered in Canada for the first time in the summer of 2002. It already affects ash trees in the United States and Ontario. It poses an economic and environmental threat to urban and forested areas across Canada and the U.S.
The emerald ash borer has previously been confirmed in Ontario in the city of Toronto, the municipality of Chatham-Kent as well as Essex, Elgin, Lambton, Middlesex and Norfolk counties. Regulatory restrictions have been put in place in these areas to control the movement of potentially infested materials and slow the spread of the pest to new areas. It has also been recently confirmed in the Montérégie Region of Quebec.
In Brampton, an infestation was found on July 16 in the Dixie Road and Steeles Avenue area, while in Oakville, infested trees were found on July 24 in the 8th Line and Highway 403-QEW area. The following day, an area in Ottawa was also deemed infested with EAB. The area is within the St. Laurent Boulevard and Highway 417.
The beetle does not spread quickly on its own. In fact, it is most commonly spread when people move materials which the insect has infested. Moving these materials even just a few kilometres away can spread the emerald ash borer to new areas. Quarantines on the movement of ash trees will affect nurseries in the confirmed areas.
The CFIA says it will carry out increased surveying of trees in the areas to determine the extent of the infestation and affected property owners will be notified. Regulatory measures to control this pest will be taken based on information obtained through the surveys.
The emerald ash borer is highly destructive to ash trees and was discovered in Canada for the first time in the summer of 2002. It already affects ash trees in the United States and Ontario. It poses an economic and environmental threat to urban and forested areas across Canada and the U.S.
The emerald ash borer has previously been confirmed in Ontario in the city of Toronto, the municipality of Chatham-Kent as well as Essex, Elgin, Lambton, Middlesex and Norfolk counties. Regulatory restrictions have been put in place in these areas to control the movement of potentially infested materials and slow the spread of the pest to new areas. It has also been recently confirmed in the Montérégie Region of Quebec.