6-county quarantine issued for boxwood shrubs due to invasive moth
Apr. 9—The Ohio Department of Agriculture is issuing a quarantine for six area counties to contain the spread of the invasive box tree moth.
The quarantine will restrict moving boxwood shrubs out of Butler, Clermont, Hamilton, Greene, Montgomery and Warren counties.
Box tree moths are an invasive species from East Asia that pose a threat to boxwood shrubs, which the ODA called "an important ornamental shrub" in Ohio's nursery stock.
The larvae are "ravenous eaters," according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. In heavy infestations, the caterpillars can completely strip the host shrub of leaves, and then start to eat the bark, eventually killing the boxwood, APHIS said.
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ODA said that box tree moths were first found in Ohio in June 2023 near the border of Hamilton and Clermont counties, and were confirmed in each of the other counties in the quarantine zone.
The ODA asked residents to watch for an report potential infestations by checking boxwood plants for signs of the moths, then taking a photo of any evidence of infestation and reporting it on the ODA website.
Signs can include chewed, cut or missing leaves, yellowing or brown leaves, white webbing and green-black excrement on or around the boxwood plant.
Caterpillars are green and yellow with white, yellow and black stripes and black spots. Adult box tree moths are nocturnal and have white, iridescent wings with an irregular brown border.
