Overview

First discovered in the United States in Brooklyn, New York (August 1996), and later found in Chicago, Illinois (July 1998), the ALB represents a serious threat to hardwood trees in the U.S.

The potential for economic, social, and environmental effects if this destructive pest were to become widespread in the United States is extensive. Several industries would feel the impact, including the:

• Timber industry
• Maple syrup industry
• Commercial fruit industry
• Tree and greenhouse industries
• Tourist industry

Since 1996, APHIS, state and city cooperators in New York and Illinois, and the U.S. Forest Service have undertaken eradication activities by imposing quarantines, conducting surveys around confirmed sites, and removing infested trees.

To date, over 5,000 trees have been removed in New York and 1,500 trees in Chicago. Tree removal has had a strong impact on the quality of life of thousands of residents living in infested areas.

In 1999, a new chemical treatment, using the insecticide Imidacloprid was developed by USDA APHIS scientists in China, and the decision was made to use the compound as an alternative to removing healthy trees. Tree injection treatments began in 2000.

Chicago is expected to declare complete eradication of ALB by 2008. Chemical treatments of over 51,000 trees in the New York area are set to begin in the spring of 2006.