After several surrounding states’ Ash trees have been demolished, the culprit has finally landed in Iowa.

The Emerald Ash Borer is a metallic-green beetle about half an inch long. It burrows under the bark of Ash Trees, or the Fraxinus species, and eats away at the growing layers, according to a press release from the Iowa Emerald Ash Borer Team.

The Iowa Emerald Ash Borer Team has confirmed an infestation in Allamakee County, two miles south of the Minnesota border along the Mississippi river.

The Emerald Ash Borer is native to eastern Asia, and was first discovered in Michigan in 2002, according to the press release.

The infestation of the Borer has since spread to southeast Minnesota and into nearby Victory Wisconsin, according to a press release.

After the discovery of the beetle, the states did set up quarantines, but the bugs made their way over the Mississippi river.

“More than likely it flew in, it can fly two to five miles,” said Mark Shour.

Shour works for the Iowa State Department of Entomology, and has been publishing articles about the Emerald Ash Borer since 2009.

Shour said that the state doesn’t definitively know how the Borer crossed state lines, but flying is the best guess.

Shour said the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship will quarantine wood and nursery stock from Allamakee County first, rather than the whole state.

If the whole state were to be quarantined, Ash wood could move anywhere inside the state borders, and make the situation worse.

A quarantine of wood can affect the economy of a county quite distinctly, especially in heavily wooded counties such as Allamakee and Clayton, Shour said.

Shour said that there is a saw mill and a wood processing plant in Allamakee County that are working with the United States Department of Agriculture and the Iowa Department of Agriculture.

The companies are taking off the bark of Ash wood, and heat treating it in order to make sure it is safe.

There are some preventative measures that Iowa can still take to prevent the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer.

The Emerald Ash Borer Team members are planting 1800 purple traps in high risk areas including a 1.5 trail along the Mississippi River, according to the press release.

“The best thing the public can do is buy their firewood when they get to the campsite,” Shour said.

Shour said the fine for going against the quarantine can range from $100 to $1,000, “buying a $5 bundle of firewood is much cheaper.”