Emerald Ash Borer found in a 4th Iowa county

Emerald Ash Borer has been positively identified in another Iowa county.

The State Agriculture Department Thursday announced the EAB had been found in a residential tree in the city of Mechanicsville in northern Cedar County.

The discovery means the invasive beetle has been found in four counties in Iowa.  Allamakee County was declared infested in May 2010.  But since then the EAB has been found in more southern counties--Des Moines County in July 2013, Jefferson County in August 2013 and now Cedar County in 2013.  There has been no report of the emerald ash borer spreading beyond the location near the Mississippi River where it was discovered in 2010.

EAB kills all ash species and is considered to be one of the most destructive tree pests ever seen in North America.  State ag officials are again warning campers not to carry firewood from one location to another, so campers will not accidentally bring the ash borers to another county.