Across the state, North Carolinians are packing their bags and going on their summer vacations. Roads are full of families driving to the beautiful N.C. beaches, charming Piedmont destinations and the awe-inspiring mountains. But vacationers aren’t the only ones on the move in the state this year. The invasive, tree-killing emerald ash borer has shown it […]
Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler sits down each week with Southern Farm Network’s Rhonda Garrison to discuss “Today’s Topic.” A couple of weeks ago, Commissioner Troxler talked with Rhonda about the importance of buying local firewood to help prevent the spread of certain insects that are harmful to trees. There’s another plant pest the NCDA&CS has been battling: the […]
In late 2012, a tree-killing disease called thousand cankers disease was found for the first time in North Carolina in Haywood County. The county was quarantined for the pest by early January 2013, restricting the movement of walnut wood and hardwood firewood. Now, nearly three years later, not much has changed. Despite annual surveys and trapping […]
The seemingly never-ending gypsy moth battle continues to wage in North Carolina. Since the 1970s, this invasive, leaf-eating caterpillar has tried repeatedly to establish itself in the state. With the exception of the northeastern corner where a gypsy moth quarantine was enacted the mid-1990s, their attempts have failed. The European gypsy moth is the most […]
The emerald ash borer is on the move once again, and this time it has made quite a leap. Last month, the tree-killing, invasive insect was detected for the first time in Wayne County, 73 miles from the nearest known infestation in Vance County. An observant staff member at the Cherry Research Farm in Goldsboro […]
Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler sits down each week with Southern Farm Network’s Rhonda Garrison to discuss “Today’s Topic.” The NCDA&CS Plant Industry Division has launched an extensive survey in Brunswick and New Hanover counties for the sweet potato weevil, the most significant sweet potato pest in the world. The purpose is to gain a better […]
As we head into the fall season full of football, autumn colors and Thanksgiving, we already have one thing to be thankful for: summer trapping for the emerald ash borer did not detect the invasive, tree-killing beetle in any new counties in the state. But don’t get too excited just yet. Although 2014 trapping did […]
You may have already seen them along roadsides: 3-feet-tall purple prisms, hanging in trees. No, there’s not a child crying somewhere about his lost kite. These are traps for the emerald ash borer, an invasive tree-killing insect detected in North Carolina for the first time last year. Between 1,300 and 1,400 traps are currently being […]
As some trees fight for the arrival of spring by beginning to produce buds, the laurel wilt winter survey season comes to a close. Laurel wilt, a devastating disease of redbay and other plants in the laurel family, has already been found in six N.C. counties. The disease is best surveyed for in the winter […]
You may have already heard about the invasive emerald ash borer (EAB) and the havoc it is wreaking throughout the Midwest, Eastern U.S. and Canada. It is a beetle belonging to the family Buprestidae (metallic-wood-boring beetles), which contains a number of tree pests. Unfortunately, new infestations of EAB are often not detected until they are […]
Each year, thousands of arthropod enthusiasts crowd the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh to celebrate the 6-, 8-, 10- or more-legged creatures that we all either love or love to hate. Recently added to Trip Advisors’ list of “Top Ten Wacky U.S. Summer Events,” BugFest has it all: exhibits, bands, games, scientific […]
Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler sits down each week with Southern Farm Network’s Rhonda Garrison to discuss “Today’s Topic.” North Carolina recently joined a club it would rather not be a member of. The state became the 20th in the country to confirm the presence of the emerald ash borer. The N.C. Forest Service and NCDA&CS […]