MDA installs purple traps to survey oak pests
Be on the lookout for purple boxes in some oak trees! The Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) installed purple traps to survey two different oak tree pests: Goldspotted Oak Borer (GSOB) and Oak Splendour Beetle (OSB), both striking colored beetles that are in the same family as Emerald Ash Borer.
Both are woodboring beetles who can cause extensive damage to trees, primarily oak. The surveys will let our Forestry Team know if we have these beetles in the park.
In 2015, Tower Grove Park adopted an Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) Management Plan. In 2016, 121 ash trees were identified as having significant damage from EAB. In 2019, with a grant from the Missouri Department of Conservation, our Forestry Team removed 14 ash trees and preserved and treated 41 ash trees.
Here’s some more information about MDA’s purple traps currently in the park:
Traps are set mid-May–June, taken down in August–September
Traps will be inspected every two weeks
They are hung in oak trees, approximately 10–20 feet off the ground
There is a limb hook on the trap that allows it to be hung securely over the limb of a tree with no damage to the tree
In the event a trap blows out of a tree, it will have contact information on the trap
If MDA detects OSB or GSOB in Tower Grove Park, they will let us know immediately
Trap installed to survey for oaks pests
Information from MDA
Information from MDA