(WFRV) – The bow season for deer hunting is already underway and the gun-deer season is quickly approaching. For hunters looking to put up a deer stand, there is one tree they should try to avoid.

A small insect called the Emerald Ash borer could have you taking a little more time finding a good tree to put up that stand.

“It tunnels under the bark of Ash trees and slowly cuts off the tree’s food and water supply. Within a few years of the first infestation the trees are obviously declining and then die from lack of water” says Wisconsin DNR Forest Health Specialist Bill McNee.

How can you tell a tree has been infested with an Emerald Ash borer?

“The easiest way to identify an infested Ash tree at this point is to look for woodpecker damage on the tree trunk. It’s something that is unusual in the past that we really haven’t seen Ash trees look like this. As the infestation progresses the trees have more and more woodpecker damage on them as woodpeckers hunt around and find out the trees have nutritious larvae” says McNee.

So, what is the advice the DNR is giving to hunters this season?

McNee says “It’s just safer to put your deer stand away from Ash trees and set it up in a different tree that is not infested by this insect.”

The gun-deer season runs from November 19^th through the 27th.