EHS, an invasive insect, has been found on evergreen decorations in Minnesota and Wisconsin

[riversedge]

EHS, an invasive insect, has been found on evergreen decorations in Minnesota and Wisconsin
Evergreen wreaths, boughs should be bagged or burned to prevent spread of pests.


By Mara Klecker Star Tribune
December 27, 2018 — 8:54pm
A holiday bough at a Wisconsin chain store shows elongate hemlock scale (EHS), appearing as brown specks, on the underside of its needles.


Officials in Minnesota and Wisconsin are asking for the public’s help in stopping the spread of some uninvited holiday guests: invasive, tree-eating insects on wreaths, swags and other holiday decorations made with evergreen boughs.

“People are fine to leave the decorations up through the season, but when it’s time to dispose of them, we’re asking them to burn it or bag it,” said Donna Gilson, a spokeswoman with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture.

The insect — called elongate hemlock scale, or EHS — was found shortly after Thanksgiving on evergreen arrangements sold at Menards, Home Depot, Kmart, Pick ‘n Save and Stein’s stores in Wisconsin. Once discovered, the infested items were pulled from shelves.

Minnesota tree inspectors on Thursday found the critters on decorations in several Home Depot and Menards stores in the Twin Cities, said Allen Sommerfeld, a spokesman with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.

“We hadn’t found this insect in Minnesota before,” Sommerfeld said. “It has the potential to impact the state’s coniferous forests and urban and suburban landscapes.”

The infested products came from four evergreen suppliers, all located in North Carolina.

EHS is native to Asia and was introduced into Michigan and many Eastern states. The insect feeds on a variety of conifers, damaging the trees by sucking nutrients from the underside of their needles. Weakened trees are then more susceptible to other pests and diseases.

“We’d been on the lookout for it for the last five years,” Gilson said. “But this year was enough to raise a red flag for us that we needed to get ahead of it.”

EHS bugs are not deterred by cold weather, said Brian Kuhn, director of the Plant Industry Bureau in the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture.

“If you compost this material, the insects may well attack conifers in your yard or neighborhood, and spread from there,” he said............................