Quarantine area expanded for ALB in Worcester

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is expanding the Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) quarantine area to include additional portions of Worcester County, Massachusetts. The expanded ALB quarantine area in Worcester includes an additional two square miles, now totaling 64 square miles. The expanded quarantine area is necessary to restrict the movement of ALB host material. This action is effective immediately.

On August 5, 2008, APHIS confirmed the first state identification of ALB in Worcester County, Massachusetts. On September 4, 2008, a Federal Order was issued, which established a quarantine area of 33 square miles of Worcester County, Massachusetts, for ALB. On November 10, 2008, a second Federal Order was issued, adding an additional 29 square miles to the quarantine area. Over 5,000 infested trees have been detected and APHIS is working cooperatively with the state and affected municipalities to eradicate the pest through the removal and treatment of infested trees. APHIS, along with the state, is providing ALB outreach material to inform the public of this destructive pest. APHIS will continue to work with the state and municipalities to survey for ALB and expand the quarantine area as necessary to restrict the movement and spread of the pest.

ALB is a destructive wood-boring pest of maple and other hardwoods. This pest was first discovered in the United States in Brooklyn, New York, in August 1996. ALB was later detected in Chicago, Illinois, in July 1998. In October 2002, the beetle was found in Hudson County, New Jersey, and then in Middlesex and Union Counties, New Jersey, in August 2004. After four years of negative surveys, ALB was recently declared eradicated in Chicago, Illinois, and Hudson County, New Jersey.

View the Eradication Program Regulated Area Map