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Emerald ash borer quarantine expands to Knox, Henry counties

By WEEK Reporter

Emerald ash borer quarantine expands to Knox, Henry counties

December 11, 2012 Updated Dec 11, 2012 at 3:37 PM CDT

CENTRAL ILLINOIS -- The Illinois Department of Agriculture has added two counties to its emerald ash borer quarantine.

According to the University of Illinois Extension, both Knox and Henry counties have confirmed that the pest is in their counties. This brings the total number of quarantined counties to 41.

The quarantine is designed to stop the human-assisted spread of the beetle through the movement of infested wood and nursery stock.

The city of Galesburg announced Tuesday its plan to combat the insects, which can be found at www.ci.galesburg.il.us/city_initiatives/forestry/.

The City also said that 4 percent of Galesburg's trees are ash trees, putting 600 trees in danger of emerald ash borer infestation.

The emerald ash borer is a small, metallic-green beetle native to Asia. The pest kills trees when its larva burrow into the bark of ash trees, causing the trees to starve.

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