Emerald Ash Borer Moves North

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has banned the transport of firewood from Mercer County after state workers found evidence of the emerald ash borer this morning. Ash borers are invasive and destructive beetles that destroy ash trees. They were first spotted in Pennsylvania in 2007. The state responded with a quarantine on firewood from Allegheny, Beaver, Butler and Lawrence counties. Survey workers from the Department of Agriculture have set traps for ash borers throughout in region, including several in the City of Bradford. The traps are those purple boxes hanging from trees. No insects have been found in this region.