Community Corner

Japanese Beetles Resurface in Fair Oaks

Officials were able to detect the voracious foreign invader a month earlier than last year.

As a little blonde girl from the film Poltergeist might say, "They're baaaaack."

In a statement issued Tuesday by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, four Japanese beetles have been detected since June 6 in the Fair Oaks area of Sacramento County, in the vicinity of Greenback Lane and Fair Oaks Boulevard.

Now let's back up a moment. It's important to note, the foriegn invaders may never have actually left. At least, that's what Sacramento County Agricultural Commissioner Juli Jensen wants to assert.

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In fact, Jensen goes as far as to say she would have been extremely surprised had last year's treatment for exterminating the voracious little pest been a complete success.

“That may not have been very realistic, but of course that's what you hope for," Jensen said.

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The good news is that the 2012 finds are still right in the small local area where all the previous finds have been, Jensen said, which indicates that CDFA is working right in the infestation area. That increases the success rate of the eradication program, said Jensen in a press release statement.

Jensen also pointed out the discovery of the beetles comes one month earlier than last year, which she believes may help increase the CDFA's ability to permanently exterminate the critters from the area once and for all. Since the discovery was made earlier, Jensen explained, accordingly, the treatment has begun earlier. The early discovery is likely the result of installing more detection traps in the area, Jensen said.

The foliar treatments () began in the 2011 treatment area and according to a release, there are currently plans for five treatments throughout the summer.

The one-time treatment will involve using Merit G which aims at eradicatingthe larval stage in the soil as well as the adults. Jensen’s pesticide use enforcement staff will randomly monitor some of the applications, according to a press release. The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR), which approves pesticides for use in California, will provide environmental monitoring during the treatment.

Jensen believe more proactive measures could be implemented to ensure the beetles stay gone, but could not talk further on that point till the ideas were discussed with CDFA officials.

"Naturally you're not just out applying pesticide to people's property, so the finding of the beetle is what triggers the treatment," Jensen said. "The people who are in the area who going to receive treatment, they are also receiving information that tells them about the life cycle and how they move so that A) they're hopefully not bringing in the pest and B) they're watching for it."

Due to the expansion of the treatment area, an informational meeting has been planned for Wednesday, June 27 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Orangevale Recreation and Park District Meeting Room 6826 Hazel Avenue. Residents and anyone with questions about the treatment program are invited to attend.

According to County Agriculture information, the Japanese beetle is described as a voracious invasive species that has caused extensive damage in the eastern U.S. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Japanese beetle is the most widespread turf-grass pest in the United States and expenditures to control this pest are estimated at more than $460 million a year.

Jensen said the beetle can also cause extensive damage to ornamental plants like roses or cut flowers. Adult beetles feed on the leaves, flowers, and fruit of more than 300 species of plants; while larvae live in the soil and feed on plant roots, especially those of grasses. An adult Japanese beetle is a little less than 1/2 inch long and has a shiny, metallic-green body and bronze-colored outer wings, with small tufts of white hair along the sides of its body, under the edges of its wings.


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