Will insecticides targeting EAB harm woodpeckers?

This is unlikely. Woodpeckers feed on live, mature EAB larvae, mostly in late fall, winter and early spring. Many of these mature larvae overwinter in the nonliving, outer bark where they will not be exposed to systemic insecticides. Imidacloprid, dinotefuran, and emamectin benzoate are much more toxic to insects than to birds that have been tested, and insecticide concentrations that have been measured in treated trees are far below the levels known to be toxic to birds. An EAB larva that has been killed by insecticide will desiccate quickly and decompose. There is little evidence that woodpeckers will feed on larval cadavers. Furthermore, living larvae that are suitable prey for woodpeckers will not have been exposed to a lethal dose of insecticide, and these products do not bio-accumulate in animals in the way that fat-soluble insecticides such as DDT do. In Michigan and Ohio, where EAB has been established for several years, many ash trees have been treated with systemic insecticides. There have been no reported cases of woodpecker poisoning caused by insecticides applied for control of EAB.