Emerald ash borer found in Aitkin County, now confirmed in 54 of Minnesota’s 87 counties
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The invasive emerald ash borer continues to spread across Minnesota with new discoveries of the insect over the winter.
The latest county with a confirmed infestation of emerald ash borer is Aitkin County.
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture says a county forester found evidence of the invasive insects at a timber sale near Mille Lacs Lake. That was later confirmed by state officials.
The ash borer has now been confirmed in 54 of Minnesota’s 87 counties.
Also over the winter, ash borers were found in new parts of Pine and St. Louis counties farther north than previous discoveries. That means an expansion of quarantines limiting the movement of firewood from those areas.
Emerald ash borer was first confirmed in Minnesota in 2009. It kills ash trees by tunneling under the bark and cutting off nutrients.
Minnesota has an estimated 1 billion ash trees — the most of any state.
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