Busy Beetles Bug Queens Trees

Since the Forest Park infestation in April, the Asian Longhorned beetle (ALB) has been a busy little bug. The hardy Chinese native and destroyer of hardwood has spread through Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan, and shows no signs of slowing down. Its movements can only be effectively checked by destroying infested trees before the beetles spread to healthy ones, and that takes manpower. Unfortunately, manpower is something that the Parks Department cant afford since a two-thirds cut in funding for the ALB inspection and eradication program left New York with only $10 million to fight the pest.
In April, when more than a dozen trees in Glendale were found to be infested, the Department of Agriculture was quick to act. Thirteen Norway maples and chestnut trees were destroyed and 40 healthy trees were treated with Imidaceloprid, a pesticide that is injected into the tree at its base and is dispersed throughout the tree via its circulatory system. The pesticide works by making the trees unpalatable to beetles.
"Thats a systemic insecticide, meaning its injected directly into the tree, so there is no exposure to the environment," said Dan Parry of the USDA.
Early detection of beetle infestations and then rapid tree removal are crucial to the campaign to eradicate the pest, but fiscal constraints have rendered full scale eradication efforts impossible. Unlike last year, private contractors will not be hired to survey trees for signs of infestation and as of May 24, all surveying contracts supporting the ALB program were terminated. The Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ), a division of the USDA, will continue to survey trees on a manpower available basis but there will most likely not be a full scale inspection program.
The USDAs current plan of attack involves starting from the outer boundaries of their 120-mile quarantine area and pushing inward, halting the spread of the beetle while ensuring that all infested trees are destroyed. Manhattan and Islip are being treated, as are the 40 Forest Park trees, but regular surveying of Queens and Brooklyn has been halted because of fiscal constraints. That puts Queens in serious danger of losing more trees. A danger, according to Parry, that can be partially averted by the public.
"We want the public to be our eyes out there. They are the most important of this program because they can inspect their trees and call 1-877-STOP-ALB," said Parry. "If they have an Asian Longhorned Beetle infestation, then someone from Plants Protection and Quarantine will more than likely come out and speak with the homeowner."
When a homeowner calls to report an infestation, he or she is asked a series of questions to determine if the tree is host to the beetle. If there is a strong possibility that this is the case, the USDA dispatches surveyors, who make the final judgement. If the tree is infested, the USDA will remove the tree at no cost to the homeowner.
"Every call is taken seriously, so they look into it. The public is our greatest asset in finding Asian Longhorned Beetles," Parry said.