2021 Eradication Update

2021 marked the 5th year of treatment for the ongoing Japanese beetle eradication. This Spring, the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) expanded the treatment area in multiple locations, including NE Portland. ODA treated over 12,000 properties (in an area over 4,000 acres) with Acelepryn G again this season. The public is still overwhelmingly in favor of the project, but administrative warrants were served to those who did not respond after several attempts to gain consent. In June and July, ODA treated areas with high beetle density (within 200m of a trap that caught 40+ beetles) with a supplementary foliar treatment (Acelepryn) that targets adult beetles. ODA treated over 850 properties with the supplementary treatment. 
 
Japanese beetle yard debris quarantine started back up on June 1st. Large landscaper or residential loads are being brought to Best Buy in Town landscape supply before being transported for deep burial at Hillsboro landfill. Small residential loads can go in curbside yard debris bins as usual, and are also being redirected to Hillsboro landfill. The site will close for the season on October 1, 2021. 
 
In 2020, we trapped 4,490 Japanese beetles in total; 4,218 in the main eradication area. The overall number of beetles trapped in 2020 was down 42% from the previous year. There was a 58% reduction in the number of beetles trapped within our 2019 treatment boundary as a result of the 2019 granular and 2020 foliar treatments. The area saw a 67% decrease within the boundaries of the supplementary foliar treatment. ODA plans to continue treatment in 2022, and will announce the new treatment boundary in Fall 2021.