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Belying the beauty of its green sheen, the emerald ash borer has become a pesky and costly critter for state and federal agriculture agencies, which since 2003 have spent millions of dollars to rid the southern portion of the state of the varmint with a voracious appetite for ash trees.

The war against the emerald ash borer — an exotic beetle from Asia that arrived in Maryland aboard a load of illegally shipped ash trees from Michigan — has destroyed thousands of ash trees in Prince George's and Charles counties, according to Maryland Department of Agriculture officials. Infested ash trees are cut down and destroyed.

Beginning in April, the department will hang 4,000 14-by-24-inch triangular purple insect traps in ash trees statewide, up from 2,500 last year, with the highest density of traps being between the Capital Beltway and Route 4 in Prince George's County and between along routes 6 and 225 in Charles County.

Maryland agricultural experts have been battling the pest for several years, said Sue duPont, MDA spokeswoman. So far, the state and federal government have spent a little more than $8 million to wipe out the pest in Maryland, said Julie Oberg, MDA spokeswoman.

This year the state will place traps in high-risk areas such as campgrounds and hiking and fishing spots where residents normally take some firewood with them, especially if they are going to stay overnight, duPont said. Transporting firewood from one location to another is one of the ways the pest is brought into new areas of the state, she said.

It is important to set the traps early because the insects begin to show up between late April and May 1, duPont said.

The placement of the traps is part of a national survey that will determine just how serious a problem the beetle is to forested areas in the state, she said. The traps will be checked twice a month during the warm season, and any trees that are suspected of being infested with the insect will be cut down and taken to a facility in Cheltenham to be shredded and used for mulch and composting material, she said.

More surveys will also be done in Western Maryland and on the Eastern Shore, duPont said. State agricultural experts plan to use systemic insecticides to treat selected trees in and around infested areas and release biocontrol agents at certain sites, she said.

Some of the traps might be placed on private property, duPont said.

"[Residents] shouldn't be concerned," she said. "They should just leave the traps alone because they're sticky and they're part of our surveillance program."

It's essential that the beetle does not continue to makes its way to other areas of the state, said MDA Secretary Buddy Hance in a press release. The pest has also been spotted in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, he said.

Agricultural specialists will continue to survey the areas where infested ash trees were felled, and if infested trees are found they will be removed or treated, she said.

The presence of the insect normally goes undetected until ash trees show signs of infestation, usually in the upper third of the tree where it will be thin and then die back, duPont said. Usually this is followed by a large number of shoots or branches that grow below the dead portions of the trunk, she said.

Other signs of infestation include D-shaped exit holes and vertical splits in the bark where the adult beetles emerge and serpentine-shaped tunnels beneath the bark where larvae stop food and water movement in the tree, starving it to death, duPont said.

The state has been waging a public education campaign since last year to alert the public about the insect, duPont said, adding that property owners should call MDA if they suspect that the beetles have infested ash trees on their land.

"Don't cut the trees down. Call us. We want to look at them and see if the insects are the emerald ash borer," she said.

State agricultural officials want to eradicate the pest, duPont said.

"Any place where the insect has been found we consider a serious problem," she said. "Our goal is to keep the infestation contained so that as products become available we'll be able to eradicate it."

Beginning in April, the Maryland Department of Agriculture will hang 4,000 14-by-24-inch triangular purple insect traps in ash trees statewide, with the highest density of traps being between the Capital Beltway and Route 4 in Prince George's County and between along routes 6 and 225 in Charles County.

For information, call the state's department of agriculture at 410-841-5920 or visit www.stopthebeetle.info.