Eradication efforts are continuing in Solano County related to a glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS) discovery last Fall. A multitude of actions have been taken to address the GWSS infestation, with soil treatments have recently been completed in the area. Solano County Agricultural Commissioner, Ed King said they have been working with Neighborly Pest Management throughout the Proclamation of an Emergency Program.
“We treated 86 properties where we either had a confirmed positive find at and properties surrounding sites where we had positive finds,” King explained. “So, we’ve been able to treat 90 percent of the properties within 150 meters of every find site.”
The initial detection was made in Vacaville in October of last year, with 45 more GWSS found after increased trapping. King noted that less than 10 other detections have been made since the middle of November. He also said that so far, they have been fortunate in where the detections have been made. “It’s confined to a particular neighborhood in Vacaville. So, there’s no vineyards, or commercial nurseries, or other orchards, or any other crops or production agriculture that is of immediate threat right now.”
The Solano County Agriculture Department and the Pierce’s Disease Control Program are continuing with visual surveying and trapping. The first biological control measures were also deployed in recent weeks. King noted that biocontrol releases will continue throughout the area over the coming months. “We’ve redeployed now, over 140 traps in the area. So, we’re going to be doing some intensive monitoring from here through well into the Fall,” said King.
The GWSS infestation in Solano County is the only active infestation north of Madera. Other infestations are also ongoing in areas of Fresno, Madera, Tulare, Kern, Santa Barbara, and Imperial counties. The entire counties of Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, and San Bernardino also have active infestations of GWSS. An infestation will only be declared officially eradicated once there has been at least one year of no new GWSS detections.
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