The West Virginia Department of Agriculture says it's giving up attempts to contain the emerald ash borer's spread within the state.

Instead, Commissioner Gus Douglass says the agency is going to concentrate on preventing the pest from spreading to parts of the country where it has not been detected. Douglass said Thursday he's decided to drop county-by-county quarantines and ask the U.S. Department of Agriculture to add the state to the national quarantine program.

Emerald ash borers were first found in Fayette County in October 2007. They've since spread to other counties, most recently Roane, and Douglass says he believes they're present in much of the state.

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