News Releases

Home  |  Programs  |  Divisions  |  Links  |  About Us  |  Contact Us

12-17-2004

FOREIGN BEETLES FOUND IN CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

The West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) is asking consumers to contact the agency if they discover any beetles associated with imported Christmas decorations that contain real wood with bark attached. These items include "artificial" Christmas trees (where the trunk is natural wood with bark attached), wooden nativity sets that have bark attached and other decorative items made with real wood and bark.

"Imported pests continue to be a concern for the Department's Plant Industries Division staff," said Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass. "For the second year in a row, we've been alerted to invasive species in decorative household items. The problems we've encountered with these types of products are a perfect example of the dangers our plants and animals face from international imports."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently issued a recall notice for artificial Christmas trees marked by the Polytree Company in China, because the items contained natural wood trunks and were found to be infested with a species of beetle native to China. The beetle has been determined to pose a risk to U.S. forests and agriculture.

Consumers should be on the lookout for new "emergence holes" or sawdust filled holes because these could indicate the presence of live insects.

If anyone happens to find a live beetle inside a box that held an artificial Christmas tree made of real wood and bark, or if fresh sawdust is found inside the container or coming out of holes in the wood or bark, that individual is asked to contact the WVDA Plant Industries Division at (304) 558-2212, or the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service office in Ripley at (304) 372-8590. Live beetles should be placed in a small container and placed in a freezer for collection by an agriculture official.

Contact: Buddy Davidson
Communications Officer
304/558-3708, 361-9484 (pager)
bdavidson@ag.state.wv.us

The West Virginia Department of Agriculture protects plant, animal and human health through a variety of scientific, regulatory and consumer protection programs, as mandated by state law. The Commissioner of Agriculture is one of six statewide elected officials in West Virginia. Currently, Commissioner Gus R. Douglass is the longest-serving agriculture commissioner in the nation. For more information, visit www.wvagriculture.org.

Home  |  Programs  |  Divisions  |  Links  |  About Us  |  Contact Us

©2001, 2002 West Virginia Department of Agriculture, All Rights Reserved

Contact the Webmaster