Short answer: the emerald ash borer, a beetle that kills ash trees, has been confirmed in Bell County, and the county is under the Texas Department of Agriculture’s quarantine. The rule covers ash wood in any form and firewood of all hardwood species. For clearing, it means ash debris and hardwood firewood are mulched, burned where allowed or disposed of here, not trucked out to counties that are not quarantined.
Arcady Temple Land Clearing handles debris on every Bell County job under this rule, so it is worth knowing before anyone offers to haul off “free firewood.”
What was found
The USDA Forest Service’s forest health summary for Texas reports emerald ash borer confirmed in Bell County during the 2025 federal fiscal year, along with Jack, Navarro, Rockwall and Somervell counties. The beetle’s larvae tunnel under the bark of ash trees and cut off the flow of water and nutrients. Infested ash trees usually die within a few years.
What the quarantine covers
Once the beetle is confirmed in a county, the Texas Department of Agriculture adds it to the state quarantine. The current list includes Bell, along with McLennan, Bosque, Hill and many counties to the north and east. Under the state rule, the regulated articles are:
- the beetle itself;
- firewood of all hardwood species, not only ash;
- ash nursery stock;
- any other ash material, living, dead, cut or fallen, including green lumber, logs, stumps, roots, branches, and composted or uncomposted ash chips.
Regulated articles from a quarantined county may not be moved into the parts of Texas that are not quarantined. Exceptions cover processed lumber free of bark, kiln-dried or fumigated lumber, finished wood products without bark, and material treated as the department prescribes and moved with a certificate or compliance agreement.
What it means on a clearing job
Several neighboring counties, including Williamson, Coryell, Lampasas, Milam and Falls, were not on the quarantine list when it was checked for this post. That matters because Bell County sits at the edge of the quarantine, close to free counties.
- Ash trees cut during clearing are mulched or burned where burning is allowed, or go to the local landfill.
- Hardwood firewood from oak, mesquite, hackberry and other hardwoods stays local too, because the rule covers all hardwood firewood, not only ash.
- Cedar is a conifer, so cedar firewood is not covered by the hardwood firewood line.
Forestry mulching is the simplest answer: the wood never leaves the property. The burning guide covers where burning is allowed.
Ash trees on land you are clearing?
Send photos. Ash and hardwood debris are planned for from the start.
Ash trees you want to keep
Ash is common along creeks and in older yards in Bell County. An ash tree worth keeping near a house can be protected with treatments applied by a licensed applicator or arborist. Ash trees already declining are often removed before they become brittle and hazardous. That decision belongs with an arborist, and the selective clearing page covers how keepers are protected during clearing work.
Firewood and the oak wilt overlap
Oaks that died of oak wilt can carry that disease too, so moving firewood is a bad idea for two reasons. The oak wilt guide explains that side.
Where to check
The Texas Department of Agriculture keeps the current quarantine list and map on its emerald ash borer page and answers questions at its toll-free line. The Bell County rules guide lists the quarantine alongside the other rules that can touch a clearing job.
For a clearing plan that handles the debris correctly, call (254) 269-4999 or send the details below.