CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - The fight to protect East Tennessee’s forests from two invasive species continues to expand.
The emerald ash borer has been found in 47 of the state’s 95 counties, while 40 counties are known to be infested with the Hemlock woolly adelgid, reported the Chattanooga Times Free Press (https://bit.ly/2je14Oj).
The number of Tennessee counties with an emerald ash borer presence has more than doubled since 2013. The invasive beetles are “pretty much unstoppable,” said Chattanooga city forester Gene Hyde. The bugs can be difficult to detect, because ash borer attacks usually begin high in the tree.
“By the time it gets down to eye level where you can see the warning signs, it’s been in the tree for three or four years,” Hyde said. “It’s an insidious little critter.”
Woolly adelgids were found in Knoxville in 2010 and have spread across the eastern part of the state since then, said Tennessee forest health specialist Nathan Hoover. Chemical treatments are effective in killing woolly adelgids but are not the long-term solution for the spreading problem.
The University of Tennessee maintains a lab that produces woolly adelgid-eating beetles and releases them in hopes they eat the adelgid, reproduce and spread to other areas.
“Over time, it could really make an impact,” Hoover said of the beetles.
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Information from: Chattanooga Times Free Press, https://www.timesfreepress.com
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