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South Carolina

Provides selected South Carolina resources from agencies and organizations with an interest in the prevention, control, or eradication of invasive species.

Spotlights

  • Invasive Blue Land Crabs Reported Along South Atlantic Coast: Coastal Georgia Residents Encouraged to Be Watchful

    • Dec 20, 2023
    • Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

    • Recent sightings of a large, non-native land crab along the South Atlantic coast, including in coastal Georgia, are a cause for concern, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division (WRD). Blue land crabs are native from Brazil to south Florida and can be as large as 5-6 inches. Sightings recently have been reported well north of the crabs’ native range, including the coasts of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. Multiple reports have been made to Georgia WRD offices.

      The public is encouraged to take photos and report sightings of blue land crabs at GeorgiaWildlife.com/ANS. Questions about blue land crabs? Contact a local Georgia WRD office (details at GeorgiaWildlife.com/about/contact#fish).

  • USDA Confirms Citrus Canker in a South Carolina Nursery and Takes Action to Collect and Destroy Affected Plants

    • Mar 9, 2022
    • USDA. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

    • The United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the presence of citrus canker disease in a nursery in South Carolina. The nursery sells plants to consumers through online sales. Citrus canker causes citrus leaves and fruit to drop prematurely, and results in lesions on citrus leaves, stems and fruit. Fruit infected with the bacterium that causes citrus canker (Xanthomonas axonopodis) is safe to eat, but it may not be marketable because of the lesions. Citrus canker is not harmful to people or animals.

      Together with state partners, APHIS is working to collect and destroy the plants shipped to consumers in 11 states and trace plants that were sold to determine additional locations of potentially infected plants. The states include Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, and Washington. If you live in one of the 11 states and bought citrus plants online that came from South Carolina between August 5, 2021, and February 17, 2022, please keep your plants for now. If you purchased a plant or plants that might be infected, APHIS and/or state officials will contact you in the next several days to collect and properly dispose of any plants purchased from the nursery. You can also call your local USDA office.

  • South Carolina Officials Announce Infestation of Asian Longhorned Ticks, Ask Public to Help Limit Spread of Tick-Borne Diseases

    • Jul 8, 2022
    • Clemson University.

    • South Carolina public health and livestock officials have recently identified a large population of Asian longhorned ticks infesting a pasture at a cattle farm in York County. This invasive species of tick is not commonly found in the United States, and bites from these ticks have caused illnesses in people, animals and livestock in other countries. As of June 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports Asian longhorned ticks were first identified in the United States in 2010 and have since been found in 17 states. In South Carolina, a small number of these ticks were identified in 2020 on shelter dogs in Lancaster and Pickens counties.

      To help state officials learn more about the prevalence of Asian longhorned ticks in South Carolina, residents are asked to carefully submit ticks suspected to be Asian longhorned ticks for confirmatory identification. This surveillance will help determine tick species presence, distribution, seasonality, and potential tick-borne disease risks.

  • Invasive Bradford Pear, 3 Other Species to be Banned for Sale in South Carolina

    • Jul 14, 2021
    • Clemson University.

    • South Carolina will become only the second state in the United States to ban the nursery sale of Bradford pear trees and any other pear trees grown on the commonly used Pyrus calleryana rootstock. The ban on sales will begin Oct. 1, 2024, which is the annual nursery licensing renewal date in South Carolina. Ohio will become the first state on Jan. 1, 2023, after passing regulations banning the sale of the species in 2018 with a 5-year grandfathering period. Additional information about the ban’s impact on homeowners can be found by visiting the Clemson University Home & Garden Information Center.

      The additions of Pyrus calleryana — or Callery pear — along with three species of Elaeagnus to the State Plant Pest List met the approval of state agency representatives and the director of Clemson’s Regulatory and Public Service Programs. The clock is now ticking on a grandfathering period of a little more than 3 years for the nursery industry to comply with the new regulations by ceasing sale of these plant species.

State Specific Threats

Selected Resources

The section below contains highly relevant resources for this location, organized by source.

Council or Task Force
  • South Carolina Exotic Pest Plant Council

    • Southeast Exotic Plant Pest Council.

    • The mission of the South Carolina Exotic Pest Plant Council is to support the management of invasive exotic plants in South Carolina's natural areas by providing a forum for the exchange of scientific, educational and technical information.

State and Local Government
Academic
  • Invasive Species Program

    • Clemson University. Regulatory Services.

  • South Carolina Integrated Pest Management Program

    • Clemson University. Cooperative Extension.

    • The mission of the Clemson University IPM program is to develop interdisciplinary, research based information, and provide it to the public in efficient and accessible formats. The goals of the IPM program are driven by the needs of stakeholders, who have an integral part in developing the priorities of the program.

Professional