• Short-Term Rentals
  • Visitors
    • Back
    • Overview
    • Island Rules
    • Things To Do
    • Beach Access and Rules
    • Wildlife
    • Rental Information
    • Events
    • Important Contacts
    • FAQ
  • Residents
    • Back
    • Overview
    • Services
      • Sign up for latest news
      • Public Safety
      • Garbage Collection
      • Utilities
      • Community Association
      • Kiawah Tide Station
      • Flood Awareness & Maps
      • Disaster Preparedness
    • Short-Term Rentals
    • Wildlife
    • Arts Council
    • Beach Access and Rules
    • News
      • Latest News
      • Bi-weekly E-News
      • Town Notes
    • Business Directory
    • Important Contacts
    • FAQ
  • Businesses
    • Back
    • Overview
    • Online Services
      • Business Licenses
      • Short-Term Rentals
      • Permits
      • Inspections
      • Contractor Licenses
    • Business Directory
    • Planning and Zoning
    • Building Services
    • Important Contacts
  • Government
    • Back
    • Overview
    • Organizations
    • History
    • Departments
    • Boards and Committees
      • Town Council
      • Meetings & Minutes
    • Town Projects
    • Transparency
    • Municipal Code
    • Municipal Court
    • Town Ordinances
    • FOIA Requests
  • Meetings & Minutes
  • Contact
  • Events
  • News
  • Search
  • Ordinance 2021-03- Face Mask Ordinance and other restrictions | FY 21/22 State Accommodations Tax Application | Request for Proposals: Compensation Study - CLICK HERE
  • News
  • COVID-19
  • Events
  • Meetings
  • Popular
  • FAQ
  • Contact
  • Search
    • Visitors
    • Residents
    • Businesses
    • Government
    • Organizations
    • History
    • Departments
    • Boards and Committees
      • Town Council
      • Meetings & Minutes
    • Transparency
    • Town Projects
    • Municipal Code
    • Municipal Court
    • Town Ordinances
    • FOIA

    Popular Links

    MEET THE TOWN COUNCIL

    MUNICIPAL COURT

    ARCHIVES

    Meeting Agendas & Minutes

    • Online Services
      • Business Licenses
      • Short-Term Rentals
      • Permits
      • Inspections
      • Contractor Licences
    • Planning and Zoning
    • Building Services
    • Business Directory
    • Special Event Application
    • Important Contacts

    Popular Links

    Manage Business Licenses

    Find a Business

    Contact our administrative Team

    Visit Our Online Business Directory

    • Services
      • Sign up for latest news
      • Public Safety
      • Garbage Collection
      • Utilities
      • Special Event Application
      • Community Association
      • Kiawah Tide Station
      • Flood Awareness & Maps
      • Disaster Preparedness
    • Short-Term Rentals
    • Events
    • Maze of K’s
    • Wildlife
      • Alligator Awareness
    • News
      • Latest News
      • Bi-weekly E-News
      • Town Notes
    • Business Directory
    • Important Contacts
    • FAQ

    Popular Links

    GARBAGE COLLECTION SCHEDULE

    IS YOUR POWER OUT?

    EVACUATION PROCEDURES

    Wildlife on Kiawah

    • Island Rules
    • Things To Do
    • Beach Access and Info.
    • Wildlife
      • Alligator Awareness
    • Rental Information
    • Events
    • Important Contacts
    • FAQ
    • Kiawah Tide Station

    Popular Links

    UPCOMING EVENTS

    WHERE TO EAT

    OUR BEACH

    Meet Our Wild Side

    • Ordinance 2021-03- Face Mask Ordinance and other restrictions | FY 21/22 State Accommodations Tax Application | Request for Proposals: Compensation Study - CLICK HERE
    • News
    • COVID-19
    • Events
    • Meetings
    • Popular
    • FAQ
    • Contact

    MENU

    Back to News

    October 27, 2020

    Potential New Threat to Kiawah’s Maritime Forest | Invasive Species Alert

    Invasive Species Alert – Asian longhorned beetle (ALB)

    State and federal officials are asking Lowcountry residents for help in locating and stopping the spread of a new exotic pest in our area. The Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) was first detected in the United States in 1996 and likely arrived via wooden shipping crates or dunnage used in transporting goods from Asia. ALB populations are currently in Ohio, New York, Massachusetts, and as of May 2020 in South Carolina. The initial discovery in our state was in Hollywood, about 11 miles northwest of Kiawah, and since that time the beetle has also been found in West Ashley and on Johns Island. 

    Asian longhorned beetles feed primarily on maple trees, willows, elms, and birches. The loss of trees to this pest species throughout the country could spell huge economic losses for land and homeowners and the nursery and forest industries. Trees that are targeted by this pest species are typically destroyed from the inside-out as the ALB larva feeds on the xylem and phloem, tissues that transport water and nutrients throughout the living tree. Mature beetles leave the trees they have been feeding in, making exit holes as big as a ballpoint pen, around late May through October. Mature ALBs can range from one to one-and-a-half inches long, with four-inch long antennas. The beetles are characterized by black and white coloration and bluish feet. Symptoms of the beetle’s presence include sap oozing from the exit hole and sawdust on the lower tree branches.

    How you can help

    Check host species for symptoms of decline such as crown and branch dieback, defoliation, and shoots developing in abnormal places like the trunk. If you have a declining tree, look closer for large exit holes, oviposition sites and frass on the lower branches and ground around the tree. Signs of ALB are visible and can be found year-round.

    If you think you have found an Asian longhorned beetle or an infested tree, please contact Clemson DPI at invasives@clemson.edu  or 864-646-2140.

    Additional Resources:

    Asian Longhorned Beetle

    Clemson Brochure

    USDA Information

    Archives


  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • change language
    • Sign Up for E-news

    4475 Betsy Kerrison Pkwy, Kiawah Island, SC

    (843) 768-9166

    Employee Portal

    change language
  • Sign Up for E-news

    © 2021 Town of Kiawah Island, South Carolina, Photos provided by Kiawah Photography Club

    Site by Cobble Hill