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AWM tracking avocado lace bug in county

At this point the infestation of what is known as the avocado lace bug has been limited to a small area of southern San Diego County. The county’s pest control staff members are assessing the extent of the infestation while seeking to control the insect’s spread.

“We’re just trying to get a handle on it,” said David Kellum, the senior economic entomologist for the County of San Diego’s Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures. “Once the rains ease up we will take a closer look at it.”

The first avocado lace bug detected in San Diego County was found August 30 at a property on Division Street, which is the border between the cities of San Diego and National City. Further AWM investigation has determined that the insect has infested about five square miles in the southern part of San Diego and parts of National City and Chula Vista.

“It’s been found in basically the South Bay area,” Kellum said. “It’s basically a fairly small area right now.”

AWM is collecting additional samples and will draw up a map of the infestation area. Kellum estimated that the surveys are about half complete, although he added that since the avocado lace bug is a subtropical pest the problem won’t manifest itself fully until Summer. “Once a lot of moisture and heat is out there, they should show themselves a little bit better,” he said.

Not much is known about the avocado lace bug, which is believed to be native to the southeastern United States and to Caribbean lands. “We think it’s a native bug,” Kellum said.

The bug is not native to the western United States, but references to the insect in Florida date back to the early 1900s. “It’s been there for a long time,” Kellum said. “Initially they thought it was just a minor pest.”

That assessment was changed after a recent infestation. “They had big blowups,” Kellum said.

In the Dominican Republic, entire trees have been defoliated by the insect. “They have not seen the extent in the U.S. as they have seen in the Dominican Republic,” Kellum said.

Pest control officials suspect that the heavy infestation in Florida was related to a decrease in the population of the insect’s natural predators. However, the natural predators of the avocado lace bug are not known, although agricultural and entomology researchers are trying to learn about the bug’s natural enemies. “We’ve seen a lot of them being eaten up by spiders here,” Kellum said.

In the southeastern United States the insect’s main host is camphor, although in Florida the insect has been found to prefer avocados. “We’ve found it on camphor here, too, but not to the extent we’ve seen it on avocados,” Kellum said.

Although no actual quarantine has been imposed, nurseries are prevented from shipping if the insect has been found. So far the avocado lace bug has been found in one nursery, and the bug is believed to have originated from a neighborhood yard tree rather than from the nursery itself.

A quarantine or other action is possible once additional information about the insect and its infestation range has been learned. At this point AWM officials believe that the infestation is too far south to threaten San Diego County’s commercial avocado industry in the northern part of the county. “We feel there’s a barrier there,” Kellum said.

The control measures include pesticide applications, and AWM is working with homeowners within the infestation area to control the spread of the insect.

 

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