Ag Department working closely with Vacaville neighborhood to monitor and eradicate invasive pest

November 16, 2021

SOLANO COUNTY – The Solano County Department of Agriculture is working closely with residents in the Browns Valley neighborhood in Vacaville to identify and eradicate a glassy-winged sharpshooter infestation, an invasive pest that presents an extreme threat to California’s vineyards and economy.

“We need and appreciate the community’s ongoing help in eradicating this pest,” says Ed King, Solano County Agricultural Commissioner.  “Browns Valley residents have graciously allowed our staff to come onto their properties to post and monitor traps, and in some instances, implement targeted insecticide treatments, helping us limit the extent of the infestation.” 

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) declared a proclamation of emergency after County Ag Biologists first identified the glassy-winged sharpshooter infestation during a routine invasive pest survey back in October.  The emergency proclamation outlines the steps necessary to eradicate the infestation in Solano County.

Glassy-winged sharpshooters are invasive pests of special concern because they vector the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, causing the deadly Pierce’s disease in grapevines.  Glassy-winged sharpshooters have been known to move on nursery plants and infest a variety of landscapes and vegetation that is common to Vacaville, including crepe myrtle, citrus and jasmine.  

Because there is no known cure for Pierce’s disease, glassy-winged sharpshooters present an imminent danger to Solano vineyards and California’s grape growing regions.  To halt this threat, the Ag Department, in partnership with CDFA, is working to eradicate the infestation through targeted insecticide treatments to glassy-winged sharpshooter host plants.  

Officials are pleased to report that based on visual surveys, trapping and control treatments have so far been effective in confining the infestation and no agricultural operations have been affected.  A previous Vacaville glassy-winged sharpshooter infestation was successfully eradicated in Solano County in 2007.

For more information on the Solano Count Ag Department, visit https://www.SolanoCounty.com/Ag or call (707) 784-1310.