Invasive Pest Outreach: Focus Firewood

Firewood movement has proven to be a pathway for the movement of numerous invasive pests which are causing destruction in the states they’ve invaded. In Kentucky, emerald ash borer is known to be widely distributed throughout much of the state, walnut twig beetle and thousand cankers disease have been found in neighboring states and Asian long horned beetle has been found in southern Ohio, approximately 10 miles from Kentucky’s border. At the University of Kentucky Office of the State Entomologist (UK OSE), we have been conducting outreach for many years about these pests and have been promoting the “Don’t Move Firewood” message. The Firewood Scout database allows citizens to take the steps needed to prevent further movement of destructive pests. When the public has easy access to a list of approved vendors, they will more readily purchase local or certified heat-treated wood and curb the movement of forest pests. The pilot program of Firewood Scout has shown it to be a workable system that is simple, easily edited with vendor additions or deletions, accessible from all devices (desktops, laptops, smartphones, tablets), and affordable and many states have joined the program in recent years. Kentucky successfully joined the Firewood Scout program in 2016 which has allowed us to utilize an additional tool in educating the public about the firewood pathway and the steps they can take to stop the accidental movement of invasive pests. We have been able to focus on the “Don’t Move Firewood” message by creating promotional items with that slogan, explaining what that means and the reasoning behind it, and promoting the Firewood Scout website.