Grandview was crawling with activity this summer when Japanese beetle adult flight season was in full force. If you don’t already know, we’ve seen a quickly growing infestation of the pest in the area, and this year we started our three-pronged approach to getting rid of this pest and protecting our ag industry from another threat to its vitality. One of those three prongs includes treatment.
That’s where you, residents in the infestation areas, come
in.
Treatment
Consent forms should be hitting mailboxes any day. You’ll
see a letter from us asking for your permission to treat your property with
insecticide. This treatment will be free of charge and we need everyone to join
in the effort to help us get rid of this pest before the population becomes too
big to control.
If you think you’re in a treatment zone but didn’t get a
letter, check
your address on our map to see if you qualify for a free treatment. This is
one of those efforts that will truly “take a village.”
Trapping
Quarantine
Limiting what the beetles can ride around on will also be
key in keeping the infestation where it is. As we saw from one year to the
next, the population of the beetles didn’t grow much, largely due to the
efforts of our eradication team and community support, but they did spread out
further. That’s why the current quarantine was
expanded by emergency rule a few weeks ago.
Residents must also follow the quarantine to prevent
spreading the beetles by not moving items known to transport beetles outside of
the quarantine area.
To limit the need to move yard debris and other plant
material outside the quarantine area, WSDA has established a drop-off site
available during the adult flight season, May to October. Businesses and
residents can take all accepted items to the Japanese Beetle Response Yard
Debris Drop-Off at 875 Bridgeview Rd., Grandview, WA 98930. There is no charge
for disposal. Proof of address within the quarantine area is required.
Those moving out of the quarantine area will not be able to
take any of the regulated items with them.
Background
In 2020, WSDA first discovered just three Japanese beetles
in the Grandview area. Last year the department trapped more than 24,000
beetles. In 2022, teams have caught 23,000 beetles. Japanese beetles are highly
invasive pests of more than 300 plants, including roses, grapes, and hops. The
adult beetles damage plants by skeletonizing the foliage. Adults also feed on
buds, flowers, and fruit on the plants and are frequently intercepted with air
cargo from the Eastern U.S.
The invasive species is not native to Washington state, and
has no natural predator to keep it’s population in check. If it becomes
established here, agriculture will have a more difficult and expensive task at
hand.
Help us spread the word and get rid of these pests!