Destructive Insect Now Found in Another NE Iowa County

The very destructive Emerald Ash Borer has been discovered in yet another Northeast Iowa County.

The pest, which destroys ash trees, has now been confirmed in Dubuque County. To date, 28 counties in Iowa now have the insect.

The emerald ash borer was first detected in the U.S. in Michigan in 2002, and has spread to 25 other states, killing tens of millions of trees.

It was first reported in Iowa in May of 2010, in Allamakee County, on an island along the Mississippi River, near New Albin.

Since then it has spread across the state, reaching over a quarter of Iowa counties.
In Northeast Iowa, the EAB has been found in Allamakee, Black Hawk, Bremer, and now Dubuque County.

Authorities note that the beetle and larvae can unknowingly be transported from state-to-state or county-to-county in firewood.

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