People who purchased wreathes, swags, boughs and other evergreen decorations from retailers are encouraged to burn them or bag and throw them away, according to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. The concern is that they may contain elongate hemlock scale, an invasive insect that feeds on conifer needles.
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection recently issued a similar warning after finding the insect in greenery at several retail chains. The MDA then inspected greenery at similar retailers and found the insect at Home Depot and Menards stores. Those companies have cooperated with inspectors and are pulling any remaining product off their shelves. However, the evergreen items, which originated from North Carolina, may have been sold at other retail chains.
The MDA says Minnesotans should not compost the evergreen items, “Unless you know you purchased evergreen products from a locally grown source,” said Whitney Place, assistant agriculture commissioner.
“This will help us ensure this invasive insect does not get a foothold in Minnesota,” Place added.
