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4/3/2025
Karla Salp
(360) 480-5397
1-800-443-6684

State begins annual treatments to eradicate invasive beetle

Area residents can still sign up for free yard treatments

PASCO – Annual Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) treatments are underway in South Central Washington. The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) is conducting Japanese beetle treatments in Grandview, Sunnyside, Mabton, Prosser, Wapato and Pasco as part of a multiyear eradication effort. 

WSDA will begin treating large public properties this week, including parks. 

Residential treatment will begin the week of April 14 and residents can still sign up to receive free treatments if they are in the treatment area. Consent forms and PINs were mailed to treatment area residents earlier this year, but consent can still be given at agr.wa.gov/beetles. For additional assistance, property owners can contact the WSDA Pest Program at pest@agr.wa.gov or 1-800-443-6684. Assistance is available in both English and Spanish. 

WSDA has identified over 17,000 properties in South Central Washington that need to be treated for Japanese beetle. A certified pesticide applicator, TruGreen, will conduct the treatments on behalf of WSDA. The product being used for the treatments — an insecticide called Acelepryn — is a reduced-risk pesticide that, according to the Washington State Department of Health, poses low risk to humans, pets and birds. The product is applied to lawns and treatment usually only takes a few minutes for the average yard.

“In order to really knock back the number of beetles this year and have a chance at eradicating these beetles, we need more people to sign up and give consent to have their property treated,” Sven Spichiger, Pest Program Manager, said. “Any yard that isn’t treated becomes a haven where the beetles can rapidly reproduce.”

Preparing yards for treatment

Notices will be sent to residents before treatments occur. Residents are asked to prepare their yards for treatment: 
  • Clear lawn of all items.
  • Keep pets inside or isolated from lawns and shrubs.
  • Keep gates unlocked or open as backyards also need to be treated.
  • Ideally, mow the lawn shortly before treatment. 
Once the property is treated, both people and pets should stay out of treated areas until the product is dry. Once it is dry, entrance is permitted without any further restriction, but residents should wait at least one day before mowing their lawns.

Background

Japanese beetles were initially detected in Grandview and Sunnyside in 2020 when a total of three beetles were trapped in the area. The following year, WSDA trapped over 24,000 beetles in the same area. Last year, over 26,700 beetles were trapped throughout South Central Washington.   

Adult Japanese beetles 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.

The beetles are a pest of more than 300 types of plants, including lawns, roses, grapes, hops and more.