WSDA Starts Annual Survey Of Invasive Pests

Washington State Department of Agriculture employees are fanning out across the state, setting traps to monitor for invasive pests that could threaten farms, gardens, and natural resources.

At the top of the department’s watch list is the Japanese beetle. After nearly 24,000 beetles were trapped around Grandview in 2021, eradication efforts began in 2022. While detections dropped in 2023, numbers rebounded to almost 25,000 in 2024 and topped 70,000 last year. Beetles have now been found in several South-Central Washington communities, including Pasco, Kennewick, Wapato, Sunnyside, and Grandview.

WSDA officials are urging property owners in treatment areas to sign up for free insecticide treatments, saying untreated yards can become breeding grounds for the pest.

In addition, the agency is also conducting intensive trapping for spongy moths near Lake Youngs and Lakewood following treatment efforts there this spring.

“Residents in areas where we treated for spongy moths this year can expect to see lots of traps in their neighborhoods this summer, which help confirm that the spongy moth treatments were successful,” Sven Spichiger, Pest Program manager, said. “Whether in a treatment area or part of our statewide detection effort, every trap is critical to our ability to accurately detect spongy moths. If you see a trap, please don’t disturb it.”

Spongy moth and Japanese beetle are just two of the pests that WSDA’s Pest Program monitors for every year. Other major pests WSDA will be looking for this year include apple maggots, grape and stone fruit pests, wood-boring insects, spotted lanternfly, and yellow-legged hornets.

Officials remind residents not to disturb any traps they see and note that all survey staff carry WSDA identification.

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