Traps test for tree-damaging beetles in Montgomery County boroughs

Ash trees in some Montgomery County boroughs are sporting purple boxes. But the brightly colored additions are for testing, not decorative purposes.

The boxes trap Emerald Ash Borers — destructive beetles that can kill ash trees. They showed up here from Asia nearly 10 years (though they could have gone undetected for more than a decade before that), likely though wood packaging material imported here.

Montgomeryville-Lansdale Patch reports the traps can help detect the presence of beetles, since early detection is hard. Once a tree has been infested, death is inevitable. Only removing the infected tree can stop the beetles from spreading.