PULLMAN, Wash.- A recent Washington State University (WSU) study has found that the invasive Japanese Beetle could spread throughout Washington within the next 20 years without intervention.
According to WSU’s study published in the Journal of Economic Entomology, Japanese Beetles would be most likely to thrive in the dry, agriculture-rich southeastern part of the state.
Quarantine and eradication efforts have been in place since Japanese Beetles were first detected in Yakima County three years ago.
However if the Beetles were to escape the quarantine, modeling from WSU’s study shows they would likely spread throughout the region from Yakima to the Tri-Cities and north past Moses Lake.
“These coordinated, intense efforts early in the invasion are really critical because if we wait too long, it just becomes an endemic problem,” said David Crowder, WSU Entomologist and senior author of the study.
