Sources for More Information

Bulletin #56: Help Stop Insect & Disease Invasions

There is plenty of help available to anyone interested in joining the effort to monitor and control insect and disease pests that are impacting urban trees throughout the nation.

Books

Here are two “must have” books for anyone seriously interested in identifying tree pests. Both are nationwide in coverage, highly illustrated and over 500 pages in length. They are published by Comstock Publishing Associates, a division of Cornell University Press. These books are particularly valuable for identifying and learning the life cycles of the pests and tree species associated with each pest. These books do not include control suggestions. For the latter, local sources such as your county extension agent or a reputable arborist are the best places to start.

• Insects that Feed on Trees and Shrubs by Warren T. Johnson and Howard H. Lyon.
• Diseases of Trees and Shrubs by Wayne A. Sinclair, Howard H. Lyon and Warren T. Johnson.

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Other Publications

There is a wealth of leaflets and booklets available on every insect and disease, usually published by government agencies. For example, “Pest Alerts” are single-page leaflets covering the major pests currently threatening America’s trees. These are published by the U.S. Forest Service, Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry. The annual report by USDA Forest Health Protection scientists is Major Forest Insect and Disease Conditions in the United States.

Copies are available from:

U.S. Forest Service–Forest Health Protection

1400 Independence Ave. S.W. Stop Code 1110 Washington, DC 20250-1110

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EAB Webinars

You can keep up-to-date on invasive forest pests, especially the emerald ash borer, by participating in a free series of informational webinars.  For more details and a schedule, visit www.emeraldashborer.info.

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Organizations to Consider Joining

• Master Gardeners
• A tree board or other tree-related organization in your community.
• Opportunities nationwide to volunteer in natural resource management agencies Also be sure to visit the Volunteer Center.

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Some Excellent Web Links

Organizations and Programs

• Urban Natural Resources Institute Citizen Science Monitoring Programs (in cooperation with the University of Vermont and others)
• Official site of APHIS, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
• Minnesota’s Forest Pest First Detectors Program training opportunities
• Texas’ Citizen Scientist Program
• Alaska’s Integrated Pest Management Program
• Information about i-Ped and other software programs in the i-Tree suite

Specific Pest Information

• Visit the 6 Pests You Should Know section of arborday.org
• Emerald Ash Borer information. Navigate to “Information for Homeowner” to find the names of insecticides used to control EAB.
• Asian Longhorned Beetle information. This site also includes access to other forest pests. Another of the many sites about ALB, including control information, is an APHIS Fact Sheet
• Hemlock Woolly Adelgid information is available from the U.S. Forest Service and a consortium of scientists, land managers and others called Save our Hemlocks
• Good starting points for information about Sudden Oak Death are the California Oak Mortality Task Force and USDA APHIS
• An overview of Thousand Cankers Disease information is available as well as information about quarantines in each state. Additional information, including speakers’ slide shows presented at the first Thousand Cankers Disease of Black Walnut National Conference held in 2009.