Six ways you can help #BeatTheBeetles

Karla Salp
Communications

First WSDA-trapped Japanese beetle of 2023

The first Japanese beetle of 2023 has been detected! Our Japanese beetle trappers were out checking traps this morning and they discovered the first beetles in a trap near the high school in Grandview. So the adults are here and it is time to take action!

We conducted our second beetle treatment this spring and WSDA trappers have placed hundreds of traps in and near previous beetle detection sites that we’ll be checking regularly until the fall.

We’re doing everything we can to protect schools, parks, gardens, and farms from this invasive pest, but there are many ways that you can help.

1. Report Japanese beetle sightings. If you spot a Japanese beetle (or several,) snap a photo and report them online or by emailing pestprogram@agr.wa.gov.
   
   
2. Place your own traps. You can join the trapping effort by placing your own traps. Traps can be obtained at local farm and garden centers as well as online. If you do trap, please either count and report your trap catches online (with a photo of your catch!) or drop off traps with beetles in them at the following locations:
   
        - Valley Wide Cooperative (Grandview)
        - Riders True Value (Grandview)
        - Wapato City Hall (Wapato)
   
   
3. Treat your property. If you notice beetles on your property, you may want to apply an effective treatment for adults (WSDA’s treatment earlier in the year was for grubs.) Washington State University has provided guidance to homeowners in English and Spanish on the best products for Japanese beetles (not all products listed for Japanese beetles have been proven effective.) If you choose to treat your property, follow the label instructions on using the product exactly.
   
   
4. 
   Don’t move plants. If you live in or near an area where Japanese beetle has been found, do not move plants. Sharing plants from your yard with a friend or neighbor could spread the beetle from your yard to theirs. Don’t purchase plants from inside the quarantine area and take them home if you are outside the quarantine area. You could bring Japanese beetle into your yard.
   
   
5. Keep yard waste and soil in the quarantine area. Yard waste and soil could also transport beetles. Moving plants, yard waste, or soil out of the quarantine area is prohibited if you live in the quarantine area. Instead, WSDA has established a yard waste drop-off site at 875 Bridgeview Rd. Grandview, WA.
   
   
6. Spread the word, not the beetles. Learn more about Japanese beetles and encourage your friends and neighbors to help detect and eradicate this pest. On our Japanese beetle webpage, you can learn more about the beetle, how you can help, join our Washington Japanese Beetle Watch Facebook group, and sign up for email alerts to stay informed about the project.

Successfully eradicating the Japanese beetle from Washington is going to take several years. By working together, we can protect Washington from this invasive pest and #BeatTheBeetle. 

Espanol

Seis maneras en las que puede ayudar a #CombatirLosEscarabajos

 

Se detectó el primer escarabajo japonés de 2023. Esta mañana, nuestros tramperos de escarabajos japoneses revisaron las trampas y descubrieron los primeros escarabajos en una trampa cerca de la escuela secundaria en Grandview. Los adultos ya están aquí; por lo tanto, es momento de poner manos a la obra. 

Durante esta primavera, hemos realizado nuestro segundo tratamiento contra los escarabajos y los tramperos del Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) han colocado cientos de trampas en los lugares anteriores donde se detectaron escarabajos y cerca de ellos, los cuales revisaremos con regularidad hasta el otoño. 

Estamos haciendo todo lo posible por proteger escuelas, parques, jardines y granjas de esta plaga invasora, pero usted también puede ayudar de numerosas maneras. 

1. Notifique avistamientos de escarabajos japoneses. Si ve un escarabajo japonés (o varios), tome una fotografía y notifique en línea o por correo electrónico a través de pestprogram@agr.wa.gov. 
   
   
2. Coloque sus propias trampas. Puede colaborar con los esfuerzos de colocación de trampas al colocar las suyas. Puede obtener las trampas en centros agrícolas y de jardinería locales, así como por internet. Si atrapa escarabajos, cuéntelos y notifique en línea (adjunte una fotografía de los escarabajos capturados) o entregue las trampas con los escarabajos en los siguientes lugares:
   
        - Valley Wide Cooperative (Grandview)
        - Riders True Value (Grandview)
        - Wapato City Hall (Wapato)
   
   
3. Realice un tratamiento en su propiedad. Si detecta escarabajos en su propiedad, puede aplicar un tratamiento eficaz contra los adultos (a principios de año, el tratamiento del WSDA era contra los gusanos). Washington State University ha elaborado pautas para los propietarios en inglés y español sobre los mejores productos contra los escarabajos japoneses (no todos los productos que se enumeran para combatir el escarabajo japonés han demostrado ser eficaces). Si decide realizar un tratamiento en su propiedad, siga con exactitud las instrucciones que figuran en la etiqueta sobre cómo usar el producto. 
   
   
4. No traslade plantas de un lugar a otro. Si vive en una zona donde se detectaron escarabajos japoneses o cerca de ella, no traslade plantas. Compartir plantas de su jardín con amigos o vecinos podría propagar los escarabajos de su jardín al de ellos. No compre ni lleve a su casa plantas que pertenecen a la zona de cuarentena si usted vive fuera de dicha zona. De esta forma, podría traer al escarabajo japonés a su jardín. 
   
   
5. Mantenga los desechos de jardín y la tierra en la zona de cuarentena. Los desechos de jardín y la tierra también podrían transportar escarabajos. Está prohibido trasladar plantas, desechos de jardín o tierra fuera de la zona de cuarentena si vive en dicha zona. En cambio, el WSDA estableció un sitio de depósito de desechos de jardín en 875 Bridgeview Rd. Grandview, WA.
   
   
6. Difunda el mensaje para que los escarabajos no se propaguen. Obtenga más información sobre los escarabajos japoneses y aliente a sus amigos y vecinos a colaborar con la detección y erradicación de esta plaga. En nuestra página web del escarabajo japonés, puede leer más sobre el escarabajo y cómo puede ayudar, puede unirse al grupo de Facebook “Washington Japanese Beetle Watch” (Detección del escarabajo japonés en Washington) y puede registrarse para recibir alertas por correo electrónico para mantenerse al tanto sobre el proyecto. 

Erradicar definitivamente el escarabajo japonés de Washington va a demorar varios años. Si trabajamos juntos, lograremos proteger a Washington de esta plaga invasora y #CombatirLosEscarabajos.  

 

Spartina: remote areas are frontline for this invasive noxious weed

Mike Louisell

Communications Office

Preparations are well under way for WSDA and its partners to resume seasonal efforts to eradicate spartina, an aggressive noxious weed. Spartina destroys migratory shorebird and waterfowl habitat, converts mudflats into solid spartina meadows, and negatively impacts the state’s shellfish industry.

Amphibious tracked vehicle

Before crews can start to hit the mudflats, shorelines and bays, a lot of maintenance for vital specialty equipment takes place. The first months of the annual spartina treatment season, which runs from May to Nov. 30, involves hiring staff, ordering supplies, planning where and when cooperators will work and how to report detections and removal of spartina. It also includes safety training.

“We’re maintaining and repairing amphibious tracked vehicles, air boats and outboard powered boats,” says Chad Phillips, longtime spartina program coordinator for WSDA. “You definitely don’t want to break down in the remote areas we’re working in!”

WSDA lead agency

WSDA is the lead state agency for spartina eradication, facilitating the teamwork of local, state, federal and tribal governments; universities, interested groups; and private landowners. Partners run from the Department of Natural Resources, Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to The Nature Conservancy, local county weed boards and Ecology’s Puget Sound Corps crews. Multiple other groups are also involved.

Spartina marked with flag

The team approach has been successful. Spartina in 2003 infested 9,000 acres of Western Washington estuaries, particularly in Pacific County. Now, there remains an estimated nine acres spread mainly in the Puget Sound region, including in Skagit, Snohomish and Island counties.

Cooperators last year located and treated about 30,000 discrete finds of spartina plants. Once again, crews will search for new spots where spartina may have taken root, typically digging out small infestations and using approved herbicides when necessary on larger finds.

This year, we expect work crews to survey 80,000 acres of saltwater estuaries and 1,000 miles of shoreline in 12 counties. That’s 1,000 miles in often remote, difficult to reach terrain. Survey and eradication efforts will include Grays Harbor, Hood Canal, Willapa Bay, Puget Sound, the north and west sides of the Olympic Peninsula and at the mouth of the Columbia River.

Annual news release shows progress

Each spring we issue a news release on efforts to remove spartina from coastal counties. It’s sort of a report card on how the state is doing in locating and removing this aggressive weed. The trend to defeat spartina looks favorable as long as the state remains committed to continued spartina funding. Spartina could easily return and spread again if not kept in check.