plant protection and quarantine

My name is Thunder.  Not too many months ago, I was homeless and waiting for someone to take me home from the Houston Beagle Rescue in Houston, Texas.  Then, a nice lady from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s National Detector Dog Training Center (NDDTC) in Newnan, Georgia came to visit.  From that day on, my life changed.

The emerald ash borer beetle (EAB) is responsible for the death and decline of tens of millions of ash trees across 15 States.  It has had a devastating effect wherever ash trees grow.  Whether the ash is used by industry; shading homes and urban streets, or an integral part of our forest ecosystem, its decline due to EAB is being felt by everyone.  Perhaps one of the hardest hit by this pest are Native American tribes of the Northeastern United States for whom brown ash is rooted deep in their culture, providing spiritual and economic support to their communities.

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has declared August as Invasive Plant Pest and Disease Awareness Month.  Invasive plant pests and diseases are not just a concern of scientists, farmers or horticulturalists; they concern us all.  Invasive pests and diseases of plants—such as Asian citrus pysllid, European grapevine moth, Mediterranean fruit fly, and sudden oak death—can transform communities, harm our economy, and impact human health.

Hello, I’m Dr. Jose Lozada. I joined the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in 2005 as a field veterinarian in Puerto Rico and, after a year and a half with the agency, I took my current position with the Veterinary Regulatory Support.

My job here is providing risk advice to our Smuggling Interdiction and Trade Compliance officers, to help them prioritize activities and justify seizures and recalls to prevent foreign animal diseases from entering the United States. I also participate in the Military Agricultural Preclearance Program, ran jointly by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Defense.

It’s not unusual for devoted gardeners to share favorite plants and seeds with each other, even across international borders.  When doing so, it’s extremely important that these items don’t harbor pests or diseases that could harm other plants or the environment.  While the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Export Services staff mainly deals with commercial shipments, occasionally, we assist amateur gardeners with exchanging items internationally.

Last month I had the wonderful opportunity to help a noted Washington, D.C. couple, who are avid gardeners, take a special gift to their hosts across the Atlantic Ocean.  During their May visit to the United Kingdom,  President and Mrs. Obama presented Prince Charles of Wales and his wife Camilla, with a selection of  34 different types of plants and seeds from the gardens of Mount Vernon, Monticello and the White House.

APHIS recognizes Ingram Carner with a certificate of appreciation for being the first person in the United States to spot the Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB).

ALB experts Joseph Gittleman of APHIS' Plant Protection and Quarrantine program and Joan Mahoney of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets recognized Carner in April.

As National Moving Month, May marks the height of the moving season.  It also marks a time of great peril for America’s forests.  Gypsy moths normally get their best chance to spread across the country in May as they hitchhike with people moving or traveling from an infested area to a noninfested area.  This year should be different, however, thanks to an outreach campaign called “Your Move Gypsy Moth-Free” that USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) recently launched.

The stakes are high: Gypsy moth caterpillars can defoliate, weaken, and kill more than 300 different types of trees and shrubs.  Since 1970, this dangerous forest pest has defoliated 75 million acres in the United States.  If left unchecked, an infestation can defoliate up to 13 million acres of trees in one season.  New infestations are typically caused by gypsy moth egg masses that people transport accidentally when moving or traveling from an infested area to a noninfested area.  That’s why APHIS requires these individuals to inspect for and remove gypsy moth egg masses from outdoor household items—before they move.

Animal Plant Health Inspection Services’ (APHIS) Brian Deschu sets EAB detection tools (purple traps) along the roadside right-of-way as part of the national effort to survey for this invasive, tree-killing pest.

A free curriculum available online can help educators teach students how to spot the invasive Asian longhorned beetle.

Infestations of the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) have been initially reported by alert members of communities in New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and Massachusetts. As summer approaches, a new army of the invasive ALB may emerge from its favorite trees anywhere in the United States. APHIS has developed a way to prepare school-aged “Beetle Busters” to help uncover any ALB infestations that may exist.

The Asian Longhorned Beetle eradication staff in Worcester looks for pests up in the tree but also leaves presents under the tree.

The Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) eradication program in Worcester, Mass., began when a resident from the Greendale neighborhood found a strange-looking insect in her backyard. After that first ALB discovery, the program grew into the huge effort that it is today.