The Ohio Department of Agriculture is hoping to slow the spread of a deadly tree parasite, and to that end has scheduled two emerald ash borer workshops in Clermont County for Nov. 8.

The first workshop, from 1-3 p.m. at the Milford Firefighters Community Hall in Milford, will focus on industries that may use ash wood products, while the other, from 7-9 p.m., will be for the average citizen who may want to learn more about emerald ash borers.

“We have two workshops scheduled, one of which is an afternoon workshop geared towards the green industry,” said department of agriculture representative Melissa Brewer. “That would be any industry using ash products, such as sawmills, firewood dealers and nursuries. The evening workshop will be for people like homeowners, citizens and municipalities. It’s for more of a general information session on the ash borer.”

Brewer said that Ohio has an approach to limiting the spread of the insect that focuses mainly on prevention. The emerald ash borer is an invasive insect that burrows into the bark of an ash tree, where it lays eggs that hatch into larvae that destroy the tree before exiting. Trees damaged by emerald ash borers often die, and can be identified by the “d” shaped holes the bugs leave when chewing their way out from the tree when they reach the adult stage.