Northern Indiana prepares for the 'green menace'

By Jennifer Stewart
Ag Communications
March 15, 2007

EAB adult D. Cappaert, Michigan State University

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Spring is in the air and soon the destructive emerald ash borer will be, too.

As the time approaches when adults of this invasive beetle begin flying again, Purdue University, in conjunction with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, will sponsor a series of public information meetings in northern Indiana on March 22 and 27 via IP video.

"EAB isn't going away in Indiana," said Jodie Ellis, Purdue Extension emerald ash borer specialist. "It is important for people who live in or around affected areas to learn what they can do to prepare for the arrival of EAB and how to slow the spread."

Each meeting is free and open to the public and is geared toward teaching homeowners and industry professionals about their role in slowing the spread of emerald ash borer. Specific meeting topics will include emerald ash borer biology, management practices, regulations, quarantines and compliance concerns.

"Participants will not only learn the basics of the insect, but they will also learn about the regulations for quarantines and what they need to do to live and work in a quarantined area," Ellis said. "We will also teach them what they need to tell family and friends about not accidentally spreading EAB farther."

At 6:30 p.m. local time on March 22, meetings will take place at Purdue Extension offices in Allen, Adams, DeKalb, Elkhart, Grant, LaGrange, Marshall, Steuben and Wells counties. Huntington County also will have a meeting at 6:30 p.m. March 22 at the Huntington County Public Library, located at 200 W Market St. in Huntington.

On March 27, Purdue Extension offices in Jasper and Pulaski counties will be the sites for two meetings: the first at 2 p.m. local time and the second at 7 p.m. LaPorte and Porter counties also will have meetings at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., but they will take place at the Pinney-Purdue Agricultural Center, 11402 S. County Line Road in Wanatah.

To accommodate the Amish community, a live meeting will take place at 2 p.m. local time on March 22 at the Grabill Park Pavilion in Allen County, located at 13131 Indiana St. in Grabill.

For more information about specific county meetings, call the Purdue Extension hotline at (888) EXT-INFO. Additional information about emerald ash borer in Indiana is available online at http://www.entm.purdue.edu/EAB/

Writer: Jennifer Stewart, (765) 494-6682, jsstewar@purdue.edu

Source: Jodie Ellis, (765) 494-0822, ellisj@purdue.edu

Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Beth Forbes, forbes@purdue.edu
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