The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) and the USDA want residents to search hardwood trees for the wood-boring beetle, Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) and the tell-tale holes they leave in the trees. It’s what “Tree Check Month” is all about.
While ALB hasn’t been spotted in Michigan yet, there is an active infestation in southwest Ohio.
Cheryl Nelson is a forest health forester with the MDNR. Nelson said ALB attacks several kinds of hardwood trees including maple, birch, horse chestnut, elm and willow.
She said the black beetle with white spots and very long black and white antennae burrows deep into trees to lay eggs. The larva feeds inside tree trunks and branches creating tunnels throughout the tree as it feeds, before chewing its way out as an adult in the warmer months.
She said MDNR wants people to look for the beetle itself, as well as other signs.
“Another key thing to look for are the exit holes where when they're an adult, they chew their way out of the tree. Leaving a round hole that's big enough you could stick up pencil in.”
Nelson warned the only way to get rid of ALB is drastic - by removing the trees and surrounding healthy trees to contain the infestation.
That’s why Nelson said August Tree Check month is so important, because once an area is infested “you’re not left with much on the landscape.”
“There are no chemicals right now that we know of that can work to get rid of them. Because ALB tunnel so deep into the wood of the tree that they're in, the chemicals will not penetrate that deep.”
Nelson said while you inspect your trees for ALB exit holes, look for mud splotches that hold spotted lanternfly eggs and signs of other invasive insects.
“You can look for other things like the spongy moth egg masses, which will be kind of brown and a little fuzzy on your trees. And you can scrape them off into a bucket of soapy water. They just need to be drowned.”
For spotted lanternfly egg masses, Nelson said use a plastic putty knife to scrape it into a plastic baggie with a few ounces of rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer. Double bag it before discarding.
Nelson said if you think you spot ALB, or anything else out of the ordinary, take a photo and report it online or by calling the USDA’s ALB hotline at 1-866-702-9938.
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