AL Beetle Program Sets Sights on Eradication in Central MA

Thursday, October 02, 2014

Nicholas Handy, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

After six years of surveying trees throughout Central Massachusetts, the Asian Longhorned Beetle Eradication Program has can officially begin to work toward eradicating the invasive beetle species.

After a through check of the regulated area, the program can say with confidence that the beetle has not spread any further, meaning that the eradication process can now commence.

“Since the beetle was first found in Worcester in 2008, one of the program’s top priorities has been to identify the boundaries of the infestation to prevent the spread of the pest,” said Josie Ryan, APHIS’ National Operations Manager for the ALB Eradication Program. “Now that these initial surveys are complete and we have defined the boundary of the infestation, we can better target our efforts to eliminate the beetle from the area.”

The regulated area includes Worcester, West Boylston, Shrewsbury, and a portion of Holden and Auburn. Surveys conducted in Sterling, Northborough, Westborough, and Millbury. To date, 23,785 infested trees and 10,512 high-risk host trees have been removed from within the Worcester County regulated area.

Next Steps

Now that the ALB program has determined the exact area in which the beetle has laid its roots, secondary surveys will now work to eliminate the beetle from Central Massachusetts.

According to Trisha Sharp, ALB Project Manager in Massachusetts, the timeframe for completing the next round of surveys is three years. Starting with known problem areas, the survey process will restart, to ensure that the beetles are eliminated.

“We are working on a second sweep of Massachusetts right now,” said Sharp. “The protocol calls for two complete negative surveys to determine that the beetle has been eradicated. There are areas that were previously heavy with the beetle population that we are checking first; we want to make sure that this beetle has not only stopped spreading, but also has been eliminated from the regulated area.”

Central MA Residents Still Vital

While the announcement is certainly a victory for the elimination of Asian Longhorned beetle, Sharp says that residents must continue to be vigilant both in looking for the beetle and in making sure that they do not spread the beetle through transporting firewood and other potentially contaminated wood.

Now that the most visible beetles and trees have been removed, the ones that remain will show less damage. The program is continuing to preform outreach, alerting residents that being aware of their surroundings in regards to the beetle is just as important as ever.

“Since we have spent time knocking down the population, residents must be even more vigilant in finding the beetles and reporting them if they are seen,” said Sharp. “The signs will not be seen as easily and the trees that are infested will have much less damage. We don’t want to back off now and lose all of the progress that we have made.”