Ohio prepares for new wave of tree-killing beetle

CINCINNATI (AP) - State agriculture officials are preparing for a new wave of tree-killing beetles that have infested southwest Ohio and other areas of the country.

State officials are taking precautions in Clermont County as federal agriculture officials predict a new wave of Asian longhorned beetles that have been feeding under the bark of trees is about to emerge.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that a federal official says the area beetle population should be drastically reduced because more than 7,000 infested trees have been removed.

But she says it's impossible to estimate the size of this year's population.

State officials have now started requiring that trucks carrying infested trees to a site where they are chipped up must be covered with tarp.

The beetle has been discovered in five states.