The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed emerald ash borer in multiple ash trees in College Place, just southwest of Walla Walla, marking the first time the invasive beetle has been found infesting trees anywhere in Washington. State agencies are now asking homeowners to stop planting ash and check the trees they already have.
The federal identification came on Wednesday, Oct. 14, after state officials sent samples from the site, the Washington State Standard reported. Investigators found larvae and the beetle’s telltale D-shaped exit holes.
A Declining Backyard Ash Led to the Find
The infestation turned up during a tree assessment at a private home. Arborist Isaac Long of Mountain View Tree Service visited a Walla Walla County home in late September to look at a green ash in the backyard that had lost much of its foliage, according to Northwest Public Broadcasting, reporting for OPB. He expected the tree would have to come down. Then he spotted tiny D-shaped holes in the canopy.
Long took a small branch to the Washington State University Extension office in Walla Walla. An entomologist with the Washington State Department of Agriculture followed up, and WSDA staff visited the property, where they found pale larvae in multiple trees. Specimens went to the USDA, which confirmed the species…