Return to WSDA Home  |  Return to 2006 News Release Page

WSDA declares victory in five-year battle against citrus longhorned beetle in Tukwila: Last residential ‘chipper day’ this Saturday

OLYMPIA – The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) declared victory today in its five-year battle against the citrus longhorned beetle in Tukwila. On Jan. 6, the agency is removing a quarantine that it declared on a portion of the city in November 2001.

The quarantine was put in place to prevent potentially infested tree material from being moved out of the area and spreading the pest to other communities. The zone covered approximately one square mile of Tukwila centered on the intersection of Macadam Road S. and S. 144th St.

To prevent the destructive beetle from becoming established in Tukwila, WSDA contractors removed one thousand trees in the quarantine zone. Since the fall of 2002, state crews have surveyed in and around the zone more than 40,000 host trees – some of them two or three times – looking for evidence of beetle damage. None has been found.

Dr. Brad White, WSDA’s pest program manager, believes the beetle is gone. “Thanks to the city and people of Tukwila for their excellent cooperation in combating this pest,” said White. “Tukwila responded quickly and appropriately when we discovered the beetle. This community’s response is a model for other cities faced with a destructive, invasive insect.”

White said beetle infestations in New York and Chicago, similar to the one in Tukwila, are far from eradicated because actions were not taken as quickly as they were in Tukwila in 2001.

The last monthly “chipper day” for residents in the quarantine zone to dispose of yard waste will be held in the Foster High School parking lot Dec. 16 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. WSDA and the city of Tukwila have sponsored the chipper days since December 2001 to enable residents in the quarantine zone to dispose of beetle host material free of charge. The yard waste is ground up to destroy any beetles that may be present, and then removed from the area. More than 500 residents have participated in the program the past five years.

For more information, visit the WSDA citrus longhorned beetle Web page at http://agr.wa.gov/PlantsInsects/InsectPests/CLHB/default.htm, or call the WSDA toll-free hotline at (800) 443-6684.

# # #