Has anyone been wondering what those purple boxes hanging in trees are? At first glance, they look like oddly-placed birdhouses; however, these boxes have been proliferating along roads in Vermont, as well as in neighboring Massachusetts.
The purple boxes are traps designed to monitor the presence of the Emerald Ash Borer, an insect that attacks ash trees and that was introduced to the US from Asia in 2002. Emerald Ash Borers can devastate trees, especially ash trees. They have been found in the Northwest and Canada, the highest populations being in Michigan and Ohio.
For additional information about the Emerald Ash Borer, please visit the official prevention and control site at http://www.emeraldashborer.info/index.cfm
