Trees to be treated for invasive beetle
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said it will treat 98,000 trees in New York and New Jersey with an insecticide to try and prevent the spread of a beetle that is believed to have arrived in wood packaging material with cargo imported from Asia.
The USDA said it will use the insecticide imidacloprid to try and prevent the spread of the wood-boring Asian longhorned beetle (ALB).
It said the treatments have yielded positive results in the past, and will take place in May and June by injecting insecticides in the soil around the base of trees, or by trunk injection using hand-held application devices.
In the 132-square mile quarantine area in New York, USDA will treat a total of 66,400 trees, including some 10,300 trees in Manhattan, 24,000 trees in Brooklyn and about 32,100 trees in Queens.
In New Jersey's 25-mile quarantine area, treatments are taking place in Middlesex and Union counties for about 31,800 trees.