WSDA Blog

As the weather warms, the Washington State Department of Agriculture’s Pest Program is finalizing preparations for another trapping season. Trap labels and traps have been ordered, trapper manuals are hot off the press, mapping software and devices are being set up, and vehicles are starting to line up awaiting an influx of summer trappers.

Throughout the state, thousands of traps will soon adorn trees, shrubs, grapevines, and more with one goal: to detect pests — should they be in the area. The program surveys for more than 130 different pests over the season, and trappers must have the traps in place before the weather is ripe for pest emergence.
WSDA’s Pest Program plays an important role in protecting our state.


_{Katie Buckley helps train the apple maggot team.}

The legislature assigned WSDA the task of trapping (also known as surveying) for invasive pests decades ago, and for good reason. Invasive pests can destroy our environment and local habitats, increase the need for and use of pesticides by growers and residents, and result in costly quarantines that limit or eliminate potential markets for Washington’s producers. They can also just make life miserable for residents.

Take the spongy moth (Lymantria dispar, also formerly known as “gypsy moth”), for example. This pest was introduced to the United States over 150 years ago. Now permanently established in over 20 Eastern states, the moths defoliate and kill individual trees and entire forests, close roads and hiking trails due to dangerous dead trees, cause rashes and allergies, and “rain” feces from trees, the amount of which has even been known to cause car accidents in outbreak years!


_{Hanging a spongy moth trap on a tree}

But WSDA’s Pest Program and seasonal trappers have been surveying for and eradicating introductions of spongy moth for over 50 years. Despite countless introductions of this voracious pest, their efforts have kept this destructive invasive species from establishing in Washington.

Trappers work across Washington throughout the summer

Each season, survey staff place traps on public property when possible, but may sometimes need to place them on private property to ensure proper detection coverage. Various traps are used to locate pests. Some, like spongy moth and Japanese beetle traps, use scents to lure target pests. Others may attract by color. Most of the traps WSDA uses do not contain pesticides, relying instead on sticky surfaces or trap structures to prevent pests from escaping the trap.

But the traps aren’t the only things with a lot of variety. The trappers themselves are quite diverse with varied backgrounds. Some are college students capitalizing on a summer job to help in their future careers. Others are retired and looking for some part-time work. Still others are just looking for a job where they can be outdoors.


_{Trappers use grids and GIS mapping to track map placement}

As diverse as the trappers are, they all have one thing in common: a love for the environment and the knowledge that their work is making a difference in protecting our natural resources. And although they are temporary employees, usually working for the summer, their contributions are critical to WSDA’s and Washington’s success in its fight to protect our environment from invasive threats.

So, if you see a pest trap hanging along a favorite hiking trail or in your neighborhood this summer, please don’t disturb it. The trap is part of a statewide effort to preserve one of Washington’s greatest treasures: our natural resources.

If you think you spot an invasive species, please report it to the Washington Invasive Species Council on their website or the WA Invasives app for Android and Apple devices.