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Pass the Mic: talking about emerald ash borer signs and symptoms

CFIA expert Ron Neville answers a question on how to spot the signs and symptoms of the emerald ash borer.

Talking about emerald ash borer signs and symptoms – Transcript/Captions

Pascal: Hey, my name is Pascal. I live in Mississippi Mills, Ontario. I think I have an infestation of emerald ash borer on my property. I'm wondering what are the signs and symptoms I should be looking for?

Ron Neville: I would encourage homeowners to look at their ash trees that are on their property and look for declining crowns. Look for leaves that might be turning yellow, look for woodpeckers that might be feeding up high in the tree. They can also look for galleries, cracks in the bark, and look for galleries like this on this ash tree here, as well as D-shaped exit holes.

So what's happening is that the tree is under attack and it's being girdled so the tree is responding by sending out shoots underneath where it's being attacked. But in this case, it's being attacked throughout the trunk so you're seeing shoots pop-up all over the place.

And then the larva will enter into the tree deeper, it'll pupate, and then it will exit the tree through a D-shaped exit hole.

So if a homeowner suspects that they have emerald ash borer, they should contact the CFIA. They can contact our local CFIA office or they can also go on our website, and there's a link where they can report the pest.

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