Cheyenne Crews Setting Traps For Destructive Bug

Crews from the Cheyenne Urban Forestry Division will be putting traps designed to catch the Emerald Ash Borer [EAB] on ash trees on city property over the next week.

Cheyenne Urban Forestry Assistant City Forester Mark Ellison says the EAB  "to date is the most destructive insect to the forestry community that the United States has ever seen."

So far the pest has not been found in Cheyenne but has been identified in Omaha, Neb. as well as Longmont and Boulder Colo.

Ellison says the EAB often spreads through firewood, and will probably arrive in Cheyenne at some point. Ellison says the traps are rectangular in shape and are about two-and-a-half feet tall. They are covered with a sticky substance on the outside, while the inside of the traps contains a chemical that lures the EAB to the trap. One of the traps is featured in the above photo.

Ellison says people are being asked not to handle the trap, and he says there are concerns about the impact the Wyoming wind may have on the traps. He also says the traps will be checked periodically before being taken down this fall.

He is also advising anyone who thinks they may have trees infested with the EAB to contact a professional arborist as soon as possible.