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In the Mexican state of Colima, a recent outbreak of the Mediterranean fruit fly, also known as medfly, was very bad news. This voracious pest was eradicated in Mexico in the 1980s with the help of FAO and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), but insects know no borders. And unfortunately, with climate change, increase of trade and global travel favouring the spread of pests, they have once more found their way into this horticulturally important state, threatening to wreak havoc on the industry and on the livelihoods of farmers. Thankfully, Mexico, FAO and the IAEA had prepared for just a scenario.

Recently, the health of coconut palms has come under severe threat. The Pacific Community (SPC), working with Pacific Island countries and territories, and development partners, is looking for ways to meet this threat before it devastates the hopes of economic progress in the region. In August of 2017 an alert was issued identifying a new danger to the Pacific, which is causing devastation to coconut palms and expanding rapidly across the region. The new threat comes from a longstanding adversary in the region: the rhinoceros beetle.

Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and Clemson University’s Department of Plant Industry (DPI) announced their plans for combatting the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) in Charleston County, South Carolina. In June, APHIS and DPI confirmed the beetle is infesting trees in the county. The eradication strategy in South Carolina will be like those used for other ALB infestations in the United States. It includes establishing a quarantine, removing infested trees, and potentially using, with the landowner’s permission, a combination of tree removal and chemical treatment for trees that are within a half-mile radius of an infested tree.

If you live in the regulated area [PDF, 576 KB], please help by allowing officials access to your property to inspect and remove trees. If you live in Charleston County or nearby counties, please look for ALB and examine your trees for any damage that may be caused by the beetle, such as dime-sized exit holes in tree trunks and branches. Please take pictures and, if possible, capture suspicious insects in a durable container and freeze them, which helps to preserve the insect for identification. ALB is not harmful to people or pets. Report the insect or tree damage by calling the ALB hotline at 1-866-702-9938 or online at www.AsianLonghornedBeetle.com.

In the early 1970s, USDA's progress in eradicating screwworm—among the deadliest and most vicious of livestock pests—was at a crossroads. Department scientists had revolutionized the country's battle against the insect by creating a new technology. The concept was simple yet profound: rear and aerially distribute masses of sterile screwworm flies in infested areas, so the resident fly populations would have increasing difficulty reproducing—and eventually breed themselves out of existence. The new approach worked so well that by 1966, USDA declared screwworm eradicated within U.S. borders.

APHIS’ Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) Pale Cyst Nematode (PCN) Eradication Program in Idaho has posted its 2021 fourth quarter report (October 1 – December 31, 2021). The report updates program activities and eradication progress and provides quarterly and aggregate regulatory, survey, and laboratory data.

The Chesapeake Bay Nutria Eradication Project (CBNEP) announced at an event at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge today that Maryland is now free of the exotic, invasive nutria. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services (WS), and Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) have worked more than 20 years to make this difficult task -- never accomplished before on this scale -- a success.

The 20-year fight against plum pox – a serious agricultural disease capable of devastating stone fruits like peaches, apricots, cherries, and almonds – is finally over, thanks to a cooperative effort by the Agricultural Research Service and their partners.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is announcing 2018 Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) eradication plans. APHIS, together with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, and the Ohio Department of Agriculture, is making steady progress towards the elimination of this destructive tree pest from the United States. "We want to remind the public that program officials are going door-to-door conducting tree inspections in areas quarantined for the beetle," said Josie Ryan, APHIS' ALB Eradication Program national operations manager. "You can help us by allowing our program officials access to the trees on your property."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is announcing the latest plans to combat the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB). APHIS and its partners are making steady progress towards eliminating this destructive tree pest from the United States. "We expect to complete our final tree inspections in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens by this fall, which shows we're closing in on eradication," said Josie Ryan, APHIS' ALB Eradication Program national operations manager. "But there are still quarantines in place for this beetle in these two areas, as well as in central Long Island, central Massachusetts, and southwest Ohio where we are still conducting eradication operations." "As you use wood this summer, please remember to follow the quarantine laws and buy or responsibly gather firewood where you will burn it, or use certified heat-treated firewood," continued Ryan. "We cannot eliminate this beetle without the help of residents and business owners limiting the transport of wood to help prevent the spread of ALB."

All known feral swine have been eliminated from Colorado thanks to a near 15-year state and federal partnership comprised of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Wildlife Services (WS), the USDA Forest Service (FS), Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) and the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA). The partnership formed in the early 2000s as a task force to manage invasive feral swine, which root up crops and pastures causing billions in damage nationwide each year. Feral swine also spread disease to livestock, wildlife and humans. Ground-nesting birds and other wildlife are easy prey for feral swine. And the swine put native wildlife at risk by competing for resources and destroying habitats and ecosystems. 

You can help keep Colorado free of feral swine:

• Spread the word that in Colorado it’s illegal to possess, transport or release feral swine, wild swine species or hybrids.
• Report sightings of feral swine or transportation activities to USDA Wildlife Services at 1-866-4-USDA-WS (1-866-487-3297) or Colorado Parks and Wildlife at 303-297-1192.
• Get more information at the National Feral Swine Damage Management Program.

The future is looking a little brighter for seabirds in French Polynesia following the first successful removal of invasive rats in the Marquesas Archipelago. The project, implemented by the Societe d’Ornithologie de Polynesie (Manu), Island Conservation, BirdLife International and Association Vaiku’a i te manu o Ua, will protect a nationally significant population of 90,000 Sooty Terns. Invasive rats present on the island devoured seabird eggs and chicks and native plants. Free from invasive rats, seabirds can once again safely nest and native plants can grow tall and thrive.

This week, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) Division of Plant Industry (DPI), along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), announced the eradication of the giant African land snail (GALS) from Broward and Miami-Dade counties. This eradication announcement marks only the second time this pest has been eradicated in the world, both in South Florida. For the past 11 years, the FDACS Division of Plant Industry has worked toward eradication through multiple rounds of visual surveys and inspections, K-9 detector dog surveys and inspections, manual collection and treatment programs. In total, 168,538 snails were collected from 32 core population areas comprised of thousands of properties.

The giant African land snail is a highly invasive agricultural pest, known to feed on over 500 varieties of plants. They also pose a risk to humans and animals by carrying rat lung worm, a parasite that can cause meningitis in humans. Both the USDA and DPI will continue to remain vigilant in their commitments to safeguard American agriculture through surveys, early detection, and rapid response. The public should continue to watch for the snails and report suspects to the FDACS-DPI hotline at 1-888-397-1517.

Few agricultural commodities have defined America the way cotton has. And few agricultural pests have been as destructive and downright insidious as the boll weevil, a small insect that lives and feeds on cotton bolls and flowers and reproduces very quickly.

The national cooperative boll weevil eradication program is widely considered to be one of the most consequential agricultural programs in U.S. history. To date, APHIS, State agencies, and the cotton industry have eradicated this pest from more than 98 percent of U.S. cotton acreage.

The Medfly is one of the world’s most destructive pests, attacking over 200 fruits and vegetables. In June 1980, it was discovered in two highly populated urban areas in the Santa Clara Valley of northern California. APHIS and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) began eradication activities within days. However, the overall eradication program lasted more than 27 months—and APHIS and CDFA needed to adjust and adapt their methods along the way to achieve success.

The United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and its State partners have successfully completed actions to eliminate Ralstonia solanacearum race 3 biovar 2 from U.S. greenhouses. This announcement comes just two months after the pathogen was first detected in a Michigan greenhouse in April. In total, the response involved more than 650 facilities in 44 States. R. solanacearum race 3 biovar 2 can cause a wilt disease in several important agricultural crops such as potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. This was the first confirmed case of this pathogen in U.S. greenhouses since 2004. APHIS continues to strengthen overseas safeguards, improve diagnostics, increase treatment options, and continually assess pathways to better protect American agriculture from this and other high-consequence plant pests and diseases.

On September 12, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and its partners declared Monroe Township in Clermont County, Ohio, free of Asian longhorned beetle (ALB). This news came just months after APHIS declared Stonelick Township free of the beetle in March. ALB was first discovered in Monroe Township in August 2011. We think people unknowingly moved the beetle in firewood from Tate Township before anyone knew about the infestation there. Before long, adult beetles emerged and started infesting trees in Monroe. To stop this pest in its tracks, APHIS and state officials had to remove 1,186 trees in Monroe. They protected 4,614 other trees by injecting a pesticide directly into the trunks. It took 7 years, but after inspecting over 177,000 trees, APHIS and its partners finally confirmed the beetle is no longer there.

Early in October 2016, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was faced once again with New World screwworm, which had been eradicated from the United States more than three decades ago. Infestation of this flesh-eating parasite was confirmed in deer from the National Key Deer Refuge in the Florida Keys.

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) immediately began releasing sterile male flies in Florida’s affected areas as part of an aggressive eradication campaign. By March 2017, the screwworm had been successfully eradicated from Florida.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is announcing its plans for combatting the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) in New York, Massachusetts, and Ohio in 2020. "Just last year we declared eradication of ALB from Brooklyn and Queens in New York City, ending the city's 23-year-long battle with the beetle," said Osama El-Lissy, APHIS' Plant Protection and Quarantine Deputy Administrator. "This year, we've mapped out a sound strategy that will further our efforts to eliminate this pest from the remaining areas of this country where it still has a foothold."

Every year, APHIS evaluates and determines the most effective options to achieve ALB eradication. In 2020, the ALB program will focus on inspecting trees in quarantined areas in New York, Massachusetts, and Ohio, and removing infested trees at no cost to property owners. The program will not apply insecticide treatments this year. In addition, program officials will monitor for the beetle’s presence inside and around each area, respond to service calls, conduct training sessions for compliance agreement holders, and perform outreach.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is announcing its plans for combatting the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) in Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, and South Carolina in 2021. "Every year, APHIS evaluates and determines the most effective options to achieve ALB eradication," said Osama El-Lissy, APHIS' Plant Protection and Quarantine Deputy Administrator. "Complete eradication of this pest from the United States remains our goal, and our strategy this year will advance our efforts to eliminate this pest from where it is infesting trees."

In 2021, the ALB program will focus on inspecting trees in quarantined areas in Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, and South Carolina, and removing infested trees at no cost to property owners. The program will not apply insecticide treatments this year. Program officials will monitor for the beetle's presence inside and around each area, respond to calls for assistance, conduct training sessions for compliance agreement holders, and perform outreach.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced today that U.S. cotton is free — after more than 100 years — of the devastating pink bollworm. This pest has cost U.S. producers tens of millions of dollars in yearly control costs and yield losses. Thanks to rigorous control and regulatory activities carried out by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), state departments of agriculture, the U.S. cotton industry, and growers, pink bollworm has been eradicated [PDF, 176 KB] from all cotton-producing areas in the continental United States. As a result, USDA is lifting the domestic quarantine for pink bollworm, relieving restrictions on the domestic and international movement of U.S. cotton.