OLYMPIA, Wash.-August is Tree Check Month and this year the Washington State Department of Agriculture is encouraging homeowners to watch for signs of the Emerald Ash Borer after the invasive species was found in British Columbia and Oregon.
While the invasive pest has been spotted to the north and south of Washington, it has not yet been reported in the Evergreen State, according to the WSDA.
The Emerald Ash Borer is a small Asian wood-boring beetle that is metallic green with a long, skinny body about a half-inch long that kills ash trees and has been spreading westward across North America.
According to the Washington Invasive Species Council, the larvae burrow under the tree’s bark and eat the sapwood, which normally carries water and nutrients through the tree.
