PASCO, Wash. – Residents in Pasco recently received a treatment form from the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) seeking consent to spray pesticides. The effort aims to stop the spread of Japanese beetles, which pose a threat to agricultural exports in Washington.
The treatment form offers residents two options: to consent to spraying on private land or to decline. However, WSDA may still seek administrative warrants to spray if necessary.
Amber Betts with WSDA said warrants aren’t a common occurrence.
“We haven’t yet utilized the warrant,” Betts said. “We have the ability to request the governor to allow us to issue that warrant and then and then go on and go ahead and spray.”
Betts said there’s a big need for community support in stopping the beetle infestation.
“In addition to spraying any public lands that we can that are inside of the infestation area, we are also asking private residents to allow us to do that as well,” Betts said.
Japanese beetles are known for eating crops and multiplying rapidly. The WSDA caught 23,000 beetles in 2022, 19,000 beetles in 2023 and 26,000 beetles in 2024.
Betts assured that the pesticide used are safe for people and pets. The pesticides are applied to lawns and grassy areas to prevent Japanese beetles from hatching.
“It’s considered by the Department of Health a low-risk pesticide, which means that they don’t really see any risk with human exposure or pets or even pollinators. And it’s a really targeted type of treatment that goes after just those larval states of insects,” Betts said.
Locations to turn in treatment forms can be found here.
The WSDA is holding an online event to teach the public about its free Japanese Beetle treatment on Tuesday, Jan. 21, at 6 p.m.