News Releases

WAPATO – Nearly a year after discovering Japanese beetle in Wapato, Washington, the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) is beginning treatment this week.

With a Memorandum of Understanding to work with The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation Wildlife Resource Management Program (Yakama Nation), WSDA officials plan to begin treatment this week on city properties. Next week teams will begin gathering treatment permissions from Wapato area residents by going door-to-door with the treatment consent forms. Residents can learn more about the treatment plans at the open house in Wapato, slated for May 15, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Lions Park, at 1109 S. Camas Ave.

Representatives from the Yakama Nation, public health officials, WSDA and their contractor will all be on hand to answer questions, and have materials to help inform residents of the risk Japanese beetle poses to our agricultural economy.

WSDA is hoping to treat approximately 1,500 properties in the Wapato area, encompassing around 500 acres. Residents will need to sign a consent form allowing WSDA and its contractor to apply the insecticide treatment for the invasive pest.

Background

Last summer, a resident heard about the pest on local television and radio and contacted the WSDA Pest Program after capturing three suspected Japanese beetle in his garden. The pest was eating the leaves of pea and grape plants. WSDA crews responded and investigated the property – which showed evidence of beetle damage to several plants – and collected and confirmed the Japanese beetle specimens from the homeowner. WSDA officials began deploying a delimiting trapping grid, in order to determine where the infestation was in Wapato. The 2022 season produced 23,000 beetles.

WSDA is urging growers in Yakima and Benton counties to monitor for the beetles and consult crop protection specialists or WSU extension for guidance on protecting their crops from this invasive pest. WSDA mapping specialists created a real-time detection map that growers will be able to use to determine if they are within a mile of a known WSDA Japanese beetle detection.

Eradication efforts

The next steps in the eradication effort include deploying traps in and around the infestation area and any new detection sites and applying insecticide treatment to the most infested areas in Wapato.

Report sightings

More than ever, public participation is key in fighting invasive species. WSDA is asking residents – especially in Yakima and Benton counties – to look for and report Japanese beetles on their property.
If you live in Washington state and think you see a Japanese beetle, please snap a photo and report the sighting online.

Japanese beetle adults are metallic green and brown and have little tufts of white hair on their sides. They emerge – usually from lawns or in other soil – in the spring and feed throughout the summer. From fall to spring the grubs (larvae) overwinter in the soil and slowly develop into mature adults ready to emerge again in the spring.

What can you do?

Citizen trapping is encouraged by WSDA and anyone can do it.

“Trapping will catch adult beetles, which can lower their population and is another way to limit the spread of this pest,” Camilo Acosta, Japanese beetle eradication coordinator said.

A wide variety of traps are available for purchase online, or at your local home and garden stores. Traps vary in design, so follow the instructions provided. Traps are effective from mid-May through mid-October when adult beetles are active. Adult beetles are safe to touch, as they do not sting or bite. You can pick adult beetles off vegetation and drop them in a bowl of soapy water. It is best to do this in the morning or evenings when beetles are less active.

“If you capture any beetles, please report them,” Acosta added. “We’re trying to count every beetle.”
Visit agr.wa.gov/beetles to learn more about this pest, ways to control or get rid of it, and to see WSDA plans for eradication.

History

In 2020, WSDA first discovered just three Japanese beetles in the Grandview area. In 2021 the department trapped more than 24,000 beetles, and in 2022, more than 23,000 beetles were caught. 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.

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