Oyster Bay Town Councilman Joe Muscarella reminds residents in the Asian Longhorned Beetle Quarantine Area that there are special rules for the removal of any wood out of the quarantine area.

In 1996, there was an infestation of Asian Longhorned Beetles in areas of Massapequa and Amityville. These destructive insects burrow in the trunks and branches of trees, generally hardwoods. Once a tree is infested, there is no way to save it.

There is currently a quarantine in the Massapequa/North Massapequa area of the Town where the beetle has been detected, including several blocks north of Southern State Parkway, several blocks west of Broadway/North Broadway, east to the Town line and south to Great South Bay. The quarantine regulates the movement of wood from the area to stem the spread of the beetle. The Town developed the plan, which was then approved by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. “While it has been effective, we are not out of the woods, so to speak, and must remain vigilant because this resourceful and resilient verdure varmint has been popping up in new communities across the country,” said Councilman Muscarella.

Tree material in the quarantine area must be placed at the curb for collection by Sanitation crews on your S.O.R.T. recycling collection day.

When you place wood at the curb, it is not collected with your regular yard waste. Sanitation drivers record the ad- dress of the home where the wood has been left. Then, either later that day or the following workday, it is picked up, along with other yard waste, by a sanitation crew. The wood is then taken to the Town Highway Yard on Carman Mill Road, Massapequa, where it is ground into wood chips. “This way, if there is any beetle infestation, it is not passed along,” added Councilman Muscarella.

The Councilman cautioned about selling or taking tree material out of the quarantine area for use as firewood.

“So far, our efforts to stop the beetles spread outside the quarantine area have been effective, but there have been new sightings within the quarantine area, so we must continue to be on the alert,” Councilman Muscarella stated. If you have any questions about the Asian Longhorned Beetle Quarantine regulations, please contact the United States Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative Asian Longhorned Beetle Project at its toll-free number, 1-866-265-0301.