Heat treatment of Firewood for Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire): Case Studies

Abstract

The movement of firewood within emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) (EAB)-infested states and into adjoining areas has been a contributor to its spread throughout the United States and Canada. In an effort to prevent further human-aided spread of EAB and to facilitate interstate commerce, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and cooperating states in the EAB quarantine have established a heat treatment process to be used as a mitigating treatment to allow movement of firewood from EAB quarantine areas. Firewood producers have since been faced with challenges implementing heat treatment processes and meeting the treatment standard for firewood. In this article, we present four case studies, conducted at firewood heat treatment facilities, with the aim of addressing these challenges. Different heat treating strategies were used in each of these facilities to meet the particular needs of operation. A step-by-step operating procedure was developed for heat treatment operation and temperature monitoring of both kiln and firewood samples during the heating process.

Citation

Wang, Xiping; Bergman, Richard D.; Brashaw, Brian K.; Myers, Scott W. 2014. Heat treatment of Firewood for Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire): Case Studies. J. For. Volume 112, Number 4, 2014; pp. 361–370.