{"id":357369,"date":"2026-07-01T15:16:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T15:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/357369\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T15:16:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T15:16:08","slug":"city-warns-of-ash-tree-killing-beetle-nearing-austin-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/357369\/","title":{"rendered":"City warns of ash tree-killing beetle nearing Austin region"},"content":{"rendered":"

AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 City officials are urging Austin residents to inspect their ash trees for signs of the Emerald Ash Borer<\/a>, an invasive insect that has killed ash trees across much of the country and continues to move closer to Central Texas.<\/p>\n

The metallic green beetle, native to Asia, was first detected in the United States in Michigan in 2002. It reached Texas in 2016 and has continued spreading southward, according to the city. While no confirmed sightings have been reported in the Austin area, the insect has been found nearby<\/a>, and some arborists believe it may already be present locally.<\/p>\n

“We’re sounding the alarm now so that Austinites are aware and have time to prepare,” Zach Baumer, director of Austin Climate Action and Resilience, said. “Community members can also help tremendously in monitoring their trees and reporting any signs of this insect.”<\/p>\n

ALSO | Blanco County issues disaster declaration to prevent New World screwworm spread<\/a><\/p>\n

The city estimates Austin has more than 1 million ash trees, accounting for nearly 3% of its total tree population. An inventory of trees on public property identified about 2,000 ash trees in rights-of-way, parks and schools, officials said.<\/p>\n

Officials warned that infested trees can quickly become hazardous, as dead branches may snap and fall, and weakened trees can die rapidly once infested. Some property owners may be able to treat affected trees, though removal is sometimes the better option, the city said.<\/p>\n

Adult beetles emerge through distinctive D-shaped exit holes and are typically active from April through September, with peak flight activity between April and June.<\/p>\n

Residents who spot a suspected Emerald Ash Borer are asked to photograph it and report the sighting to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, either through an online form<\/a> or by calling 866-322-4512.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 City officials are urging Austin residents to inspect their ash trees for signs of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":357370,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":["post-357369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=357369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/357370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=357369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=357369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}