If you plan on having a campfire this summer, you may want to think about more than just fire safety.
Canadians now have to be more careful than ever — not just because of the fire itself, but because of what might be in the wood.
The emerald ash borer is a highly destructive beetle which has been killing trees all over North America.
Andrew Holland, spokesperson with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, said Canadians can play a role in helping to prevent the spread of this beetle.
“What we’re urging people to do is buy your firewood close to your destination and burn it all there, and don’t bring unused wood back in your vehicle and back home because you could be transporting this invasive beetle,” said Holland.
Holland said the emerald ash borer was found in Canada in 2002 along the Detroit-Windsor border and has done significant damage to ash trees in Ontario and Québec. Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal have lost most of their ash trees, according to the NCC.
The beetle was most recently spotted in Edmundston, N.B., Bedford, N.S., and Winnipeg, Man.
Holland said the Canadian Forest Service is breeding parasitoid mite wasps in Ontario to take on the beetles.
“They’re being released into these infested ash trees and these wasps are going to eat the larvae and the eggs and essentially wipe them out,” he said.
Holland notes the wasps are not a threat to humans or other organisms.
