Central MA Asian Longhorned Beetle quarantine zone about to be expanded

I hope it never spreads south of Worcester. My wood supplier works for the state and clears trees in the Douglas State Forest. If they cut him off, there goes my wood supply hh:

Inevitable, I hope that it doesn't spread the 15 miles to me. Yet, every day there are craigslist posts, professional and non who are advertising wood delivered or for free in the no-move zone

give it 5-10 years maybe less it will be in the Ashburnham area

Have any of you guys actually seen the little suckers, or the evidence of??

Just curious how bad they actually are.

Werm said:

Have any of you guys actually seen the little suckers, or the evidence of??

Just curious how bad they actually are.

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I live in Shrewsbury and have quite a few trees on our property as well as woods behind us and I have yet to see this pest.

I've often wondered if this is a media hyped thing or if the hysteria is real. I can't imagine there is no sort of insecticide to get the little b*stards.

What exactly does the map mean, just that you can't take wood out of the zone?

newstove said:

Werm said:

What exactly does the map mean, just that you can't take wood out of the zone?

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What it really means is this (and this is the important part of the ALB order):

"No Person shall harvest, cut, move, carry, transport or ship (or authorize or allow any other Person to do the same) Regulated Articles within or outside of the Affected Area during the Quarantine Period, unless specifically authorized in writing by the Commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Recreation."

Basically, you can't move firewood (which is a regulated article under the order) at all within the zone unless specifically authorized. Fines are starting to be given out quite a bit lately in the amount of $25,000 per fine... I know of two that have happened in the past few days.

Note that homeowners have been trying to give wood away that are in the ALB zone. I try to warn them but some don't believe it. One got fined - he's a believer now.

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Newstove - Have you heard of anyone having luck with getting approval from the commish? Sounds like a person to take out to dinner if they have the final say

I posted this to Worcester craigslist, where undoubtedly it will get flagged:

The zone for moving, cutting, doing pretty much anything with wood has been expanded due to new discoveries of the Asian Longhorn Beetle. This is the new map:

http://www.ci.worcester.ma.us/cmo/pdf/ALBRegulatedArea.pdf

“No Person shall harvest, cut, move, carry, transport or ship (or authorize or allow any other Person to do the same) Regulated Articles within or outside of the Affected Area during the Quarantine Period, unless specifically authorized in writing by the Commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Recreation.”

People on craigslist are still advertising firewood - free or otherwise that appears to come from this zone. Either state you are outside this zone (and tell the truth), or face the consequences of the (maximum) $25,000 fine. People have been fined as recently as this week. Don't think the authorities haven't caught on to craigslist.

From the Worcester web page:

Host wood from within the quarantine area represents the greatest risk of pest survival and spread. This host wood can only be sold for use within the quarantine area. Homeowners may use wood from trees cut on their property as firewood. Wood from host trees must be inspected for signs of ALB infestation. Contact the Regulatory Desk at the ALB Program Office if signs are found at (508) 799-8327. All infested wood will be disposed of by Program Officials and should not be kept for use as firewood.

All firewood inside the regulated area is restricted and cannot be taken out regardless of species. Both host and non host trees that have been processed into firewood may be sold to other residents for use inside the regulated area. Wood from sources outside the regulated area is allowed to be brought in, however once inside this wood must also remain for the use only within the regulated area. Anyone selling firewood must attend a Compliance Training Session and sign a compliance agreement with the ALB Program.

If you suspect that someone is transporting firewood or other wood materials from the regulated area, please notify an ALB Compliance Officer as soon as possible by calling (508) 799-8327. Please leave a message if there is no answer.

Problem with this little bugger is it is not species specific. It attacks everything. I always like the forestry guy's response,
quarantine's everywhere, some problems with that though, the buggers are airborne part of their life cycle and they do not read maps.

If I'm not mistaken, this has occured in other parts of the country? How was it resolved, or has it been?

I live in Shrewsbury as well just outside where the quarantine zone is . . . . I have heard that a decision has now been made to inject the trees with a chemical that will kill the ALB without harming other bugs and animals. I understand the need to protect the other bugs and animals, but at this rate there may not be any trees left for them either. I think they should do some aerial spraying and get rid of them. While there may be some collatoral damage to some other animals I think it becomes a lesser of 2 evils at this point. . . .

bgoodwithwood said:

I live in Shrewsbury as well just outside where the quarantine zone is . . . . I have heard that a decision has now been made to inject the trees with a chemical that will kill the ALB without harming other bugs and animals. I understand the need to protect the other bugs and animals, but at this rate there may not be any trees left for them either. I think they should do some aerial spraying and get rid of them. While there may be some collatoral damage to some other animals I think it becomes a lesser of 2 evils at this point. . . .

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I'd have to agree, thankfully I don't have this issue yet, but I have no doubt that I will at some point. are they really clear cutting everything in the affected areas?

they are for EAB in some areas, ALB is similar same problems in dealing with it. Chemical injection may or may not work, very pricey. Long term side effects unknown (chemical)

The article I read about the injections seemed to indicate it was still rather experimental at this point and frankly it didn't sound overly promising from the comments by the experts cited. Sounds like a very expensive proposition and would require frequent re-treatment. Good for saving a few prize trees in strategic areas but doesn't sound like something that realistically could save a forest.

Do not over-estimate the power of pesticide spraying. A better hope would be to find a virus that attacks the pest, and spray that. There is a company in New Brunswick pursuing that approach for other forest pests.