HOUGHTON -- With the emerald ash borer's flight season just around the corner, the Slow Ash Mortality (SLAM) team from Michigan Tech is putting their traps in place.

This year, approximately 450 purple prism traps will be hung in ash trees throughout the Keweenaw.  The team has expanded their grid to include a couple of the sticky traps in Houghton as well as some in southern Keweenaw County.  They also added a second aroma to help lure the harmful beetles.

“There's an increased probability that we would find emerald ash borers south of the canal, given where we now know that it is in Houghton County, based on our trapping from last year,“ says Tech Professor Andrew Storer.

The traps will remain in the trees until the end of the summer.  The team will use the data to more accurately map the infestation and plan management efforts.