CURRENT HEMLOCK WOOLY ADELGID QUARANTINE MAP

HEMLOCK WOOLY ADELGID ACTION PLAN

Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Quarantine

What You Should Know About The Hemlock Woolly Adelgid

• The hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) was accidentally introduced from Asia in the 1920s.

• It feeds on Carolina, eastern and several exotic hemlock species often sold in local nurseries.

• It is now established in 12 eastern states from North Carolina to Maine, and has caused widespread mortality of hemlocks in forest and suburban settings.

• Hemlock is an important component of the New England forest ecosystem. Hemlock is the third most prevalent tree in Vermont. It provides protection from erosion along stream banks, shelter in the winter for deer and is an important food source for birds and other wildlife. In addition, it is an important source of lumber and is valued as an ornamental because of its graceful form.

• Several individual infestations on introduced nursery stock were discovered in New Hampshire and Maine and destroyed.

• Control of this pest with insecticides in forests is often impractical because thorough coverage of the dense foliage is difficult to achieve, and hemlock commonly grows near rivers or wetlands where these compounds cannot be used.

• Several registered pesticides, such as insecticidal soap and dormant oil, are effective against this pest, and can be used on ornamental plantings of hemlock.

• Several biological control agents are being studied in the hope of devising effective long-term management of hemlock woolly adelgid.

• Birds have been implicated in the spread of this pest.

• A quarantine against this pest was established in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Homeowners and nurseries cannot bring hemlock seedlings or trees from adelgid-infested states into these states without an inspection permit certifying they are pest-free.

• In areas that are not currently infested, the threat of hemlock woolly adelgid does not justify changing forest plans or rushing to salvage hemlock lumber. Even after forestland is infested, hemlocks do not die immediately, and a salvage cut can be done before that occurs.

• Here are some informative websites on hemlock woolly adelgid:

http://www.fs.fed.us/na.morgantown/fhp/hwa/hwasite.html

http://www.cce.cornell.edu/suffolk/grownet/tree-insect/hemwool.html

http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/hemadelgid.html

http://www.hort.uconn.edu/ipm/homegrnd/htms/46wooly.htm