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Japanese beetle eradication effort could fail in Cedar Mill
By Virginia Bruce

Despite an extensive door-to-door campaign in the neighborhoods affected by the invasive Japanese beetle, the effort may fail because too many Cedar Mill residents haven’t consented to treatment.

Clint Burfitt, Insect Pest Prevention and Management Program Manager for the Oregon Department of Agriculture, says, “The proposed Japanese beetle eradication project is entering a critical period. The contractor has been hired, and the application of insecticide is scheduled to begin on April 17. The current challenge is that there are approximately 900 properties that have not responded to the consent process. Of those who have responded, approximately 1,300 gave their “yes” consent for treatment and 16 respondents said “no.”  

“Our community team and ODA personnel have spent more than 400 hours conducting door-to-door outreach activities. To provide legal access to, and treatment of, the properties who have not responded to the consent form, the Department of Justice would need to issue an administrative legal notification.

“The idea of administering approximately 900 notifications to conduct the necessary insecticide applications is not a popular idea at the Department of Justice. An official notification asking for consent was sent out last week to residents who have not responded. Door-to-door activities are continuing in an attempt to reach those same residents.”

Why should you agree to let the contractors onto your property to sprinkle Acelepryn on your turf?

• There is one opportunity to do this project now, due to the nature of the beetle’s lifecycle. If we wait any longer to treat, we miss our singular opportunity to eradicate this pest. One summer of uncontrolled reproduction will allow the beetle to become established, and it will spread rapidly.
• Failure to complete the eradication project will likely result in increased pesticide use throughout the state, as industry and homeowners try to figure out how to control the Japanese beetle.
• People who would rather use organic methods will not succeed in time to stop the beetle. We’ll lose our organic food sources, and Oregon’s economy will suffer because the nursery industry may no longer be able to ship plants to other western states.
• Acelepryn is a targeted product. It will sink into the soil and prevent the eggs laid at the end of the summer from maturing. It won’t harm bees or other pollinators. It is unlikely to get into the water or to affect even nearby garden beds, because it is a granular form that will only be applied during dry weather, by trained personnel, and not near any wetland areas.

Please don’t be the person who allows the Japanese beetle to get a foothold in Oregon! Do your research by visiting the information site here, and use the online form or any of the mailed notices to let ODA know that you’ll do your part to protect us.

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