Press Releases

Publications

Videos

Art & Symbols

Email Us

Privacy Statement
EEO Statement
USDA | MRP

APHIS Home Page

Printable version

Press Releases

USDA TO CONTINUE TREE TREATMENTS IN JERSEY CITY AND HOBOKEN FOR ASIAN LONGHORNED BEETLE

JERSEY CITY, N.J., April 22, 2005—The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will treat approximately 900 trees susceptible to the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) in Jersey City and Hoboken, N.J. APHIS will begin the treatments April 25, as a critical part of its on–going Asian longhorned beetle cooperative eradication program’s effort to prevent further infestation of this destructive pest.

The trees will be treated with the insecticide imidacloprid, which has displayed promising results in past treatments.

Program officials, through the use of certified pesticide applicator contractors, will administer the treatments by either injecting the insecticide into the tree through small capsules placed at the base of the tree’s trunk or by injecting it into the soil surrounding the tree. Each site will be closely monitored.

The insecticide is dispersed through the tree’s vascular system. This enables the insecticide to reach ALB adults feeding on small twigs and leaves and the larvae feeding beneath the bark of host trees. Imidacloprid is currently used by some lawn service companies to kill lawn grubs and in some domestic pet treatments to kill fleas.

The larvae of the ALB bore into healthy hardwood trees and feed on living tree tissue and heartwood. Later, throughout the summer, adult beetles emerge from exit holes and briefly feed on the leaves and small twigs of host trees. To fight this destructive invader, agriculture officials removed and destroyed 461 trees in Jersey City.

APHIS and its cooperators undertake eradication by imposing quarantines, conducting intensified visual inspections around confirmed sites to delimit infestations, remove infested and high–risk exposed host trees and chemically treat host trees as part of an area–wide integrated pest management strategy. The goal is to eliminate this destructive insect from New Jersey before it can establish itself elsewhere.

Residents can assist in the eradication effort by allowing project officials access to their property to treat trees. For more information on the treatment program, call (201) 533-9610.

The public can also help by looking for ALB, which is about 1 to 1.5 inches long, has a shiny jet black body with distinctive white spots and long antennae that are banded with black and white. To report a sighting of this insect, call 1-866-BEETLE1.

APHIS, USDA’s Forest Service and Agricultural Research Service, New Jersey Department of Agriculture and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection participate in the ALB cooperative eradication program. For more information, visit the APHIS Web site at www.aphis.usda.gov/alb.

#

Note to Reporters: USDA news releases, program announcements and media advisories are available on the Internet. Go to the APHIS news release page at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/news/press.html. Also, anyone with an e-mail address can sign up to receive APHIS press releases automatically. Send an e-mail message to lyris@mdrdlyriss10.aphis.usda.gov and leave the subject blank. In the message, type
subscribe press_releases.