Tree-killing insect found in more Mid-Missouri counties

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

An invasive insect species known for killing ash trees has been found in two more Mid-Missouri counties.

The Missouri Department of Conservation said Monday that the emerald ash borer has now been found in Chariton and Moniteau counties. The insect had already been found in each local county but a few -- Audrain, Monroe and Saline.

The insect has been found in 78 of the state's 114 counties.

The easiest-to-find sign of emerald ash borer damage is called bark blonding, in which woodpeckers remove parts of an ash tree's bark in search of the insects for food, the department said. The department says it has received dozens of reports of bark blonding this winter, indicating the insect is rapidly increasing its population statewide.

“In some areas, nearly every ash tree has bark blonding from the ground to the upper branches, indicating EAB populations are high and that most ash trees will be dead in a year or two,” Robbie Doerhoff, a forest entomologist with the conservation department, said in a news release.

The department urges landowners to remove or treat their ash trees and to not move firewood. Moving firewood helps the insect spread across the state.