The state of Kansas is begging its citizens not to bring firewood into the state from Missouri or any other state where the dreaded emerald ash borer has been found.

The metallic green beetle arrived first in Michigan in 2002, probably in the wood of shipping crates. Experts estimate the borers have killed 40 million ash trees in southeastern Michigan and millions more in the eight other states where they have been found.

They were found in southeast Missouri last year. Adult beetles nibble on ash leaves and cause no major damage. But the larvae feed on the inner bark of trees and disrupt water and nutrient flow, killing the trees.

The Kansas Department of Agriculture has launched a campaign that campers will quickly recognize.

Signs will begin appearing around the sunflower state urging people to “Burn it where you buy it.”

“We’re always on the lookout for new, damaging pests, and the emerald ash borer has been on our radar for a number of years,” said Laurinda Ramonda, state survey coordinator for the department’s plant protection and weed control program. “Because it’s not native to the United States, it has no natural predators and researchers haven’t yet found an effective way to control it using other methods like pesticides.”