Quebec City is dealing with a major infestation. Since July 10th, city officials say they’ve been working to prevent the spread of emerald ash borer, an invasive species which now threatens more than 10 per cent of trees in the capital.
There are about 100,000 trees in Quebec’s capital and about 13,000 of those are ash trees and could be infected.
That number doesn’t include ash trees on private property, nor ash in the forests surrounding Quebec City.
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One of the challenges is that infested trees do not appear to look infested.
“For now, we don’t know exactly how big the problem is, but for sure it’s a big problem we have on our hands because … the problem with the emerald ash borer is finding where this insect is exactly,” said Robert Lavallée, a research scientist with Ressources naturelles Canada.
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Quebec City has now set up 75 traps.
One way they hope to control the problem is to attract the critters to the traps where they will be exposed to a type of fungi.
Scientists hope the exposed bugs will spread the disease among the population.
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Since 2002, the emerald ash borer has killed millions of trees across North America.
It was first discovered in Quebec in 2008, and has appeared in Montreal in previous years.
Officials are asking residents to help by not transporting fire wood from one location to another.