The tree-killing emerald ash borer (EAB) has been confirmed for the first time in Richland County in the town of Dayton.

Richland County has been under quarantine for EAB since July 2014, so this new find does not change anything from a regulatory standpoint there.

Richland and three other counties– Green, Iowa and Lafayette–were quarantined in 2014 because they were surrounded by counties where EAB had been found, and it was likely EAB was present there in low numbers that are difficult to detect. EAB has now been confirmed in all of those counties except Iowa.

Actually confirming the presence of EAB should alert residents that it is more important than ever not to move firewood from the county to non-quarantine areas, officials say.

Staff from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection  (DATCP) found two adult beetles July 28 in a trap along Hwy. 14 in the Town of Dayton, about five miles west of Richland Center.

Quarantines prohibit ash wood products and hardwood firewood from being moved to areas that are not quarantined. For businesses handling wood products that could carry EAB, this means that they must work with DATCP to assure that they are not transporting the pest to non-quarantine counties. For private citizens, a quarantine means that residents may not take firewood from these counties to nonquarantine counties.

Emerald ash borer is native to China and probably entered the United States on packing material, showing up first in Michigan in 2002. It was first found in Wisconsin in 2008 in Ozaukee County.

Other quarantined Wisconsin counties include Adams, Juneau, La Crosse, Monroe, Sauk, and Vernon.