What makes an EAB infestation “official”?
The initial confirmation of EAB in a county must be based on the collection of a life stage of the insect– usually a larva or an adult. Larvae or adults collected from ash wood should be preserved in alcohol. Specimens are sent to the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service for confirmation before the insect is considered to be officially present. An exit hole or larval gallery in wood is not enough to make a positive identification for a new county record.
