Purple Traps Catch Bad Bugs

The purple boxes were placed on ash trees to trap the destructive emerald ash borers. The traps feature a coating of a chemical agent that mimics the scent of a stressed ash tree, which attracts the beetles who search for weak trees. A sticky substance on the traps snares the insects when they land.

 “There have been over 25 million ash trees lost so far,” declared Tom Zeuli, Hudson’s Director of Public Works and Parks. “They have been found in a bunch of states, including Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Wisconsin, Minnesota and a few of the Canadian provinces. ”Last summer over 8,000 purple detection traps were put out across the state to detect the presence of the emerald ash borer. This summer the number of traps has risen to 9,000.”

The traps are part of the Emerald Ash Borer Survey Program, which is, according to www.emeraldashborer.wi.gov, “an ongoing effort to monitor for the presence of the emerald ash borer in Wisconsin.”

More information about emerald ash borers can also be found by going to www.emeraldashborer.wi.gov, or calling the Emerald Ash Borer Hotline at 1-800-462-2803.