MOUNT PLEASANT — The highly invasive Asian longhorned beetle has been detected east of the Cooper River, opening up a new front on the state’s war against the insect.

Clemson University’s Department of Plant Industry is urging residents, arborists, construction site contractors and debris management companies to avoid moving hardwood tree debris out of the community as the investigation proceeds.

Clemson and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are collaborating on the infestation investigation, according to a news release. An official quarantine of the community will likely be announced in the coming weeks.

“It’s difficult to know how the insects ended up in Mount Pleasant,” Steven Long, who oversees the Department of Plant Industry, wrote in a statement. “It’s frustrating that invasive

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