Biting bullet on beetle

OREM — For at least three years, some Orem folks will have to go without garden-grown tomatoes and cucumbers — all because of a pesky bug.

And if the residents living where the Japanese beetle has been found don't agree to take certain steps to stop the infestation, the voracious bugs could spread statewide, causing serious problems.

"We need your help to be effective," Larry Lewis told a crowd of residents at Suncrest Elementary School Tuesday night. "We need to bite the bullet for three years so we don't have to deal with pesticides for the long run."

Lewis, the public-information officer for the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, asked residents to spray lawns, trees, bushes and gardens in the affected area once a year for the next three years to — hopefully — eradicate the small, winged pest.

But with that spraying in the area from 800 North to 400 South and from State Street to I-15 comes a quarantine on some of the season's tastiest treats, such as corn, zucchini, peaches and apricots.

However, the Utah County Jail will donate some vegetables grown in its inmate-tended garden to Orem residents suffering through the three-year gardening hiatus.

"We're going to try to do as much as we can to help people," said Utah County sheriff's deputy James Baldwin, who works with the jail-industries program. "We've increased the garden to about five acres to try to help out more."

Baldwin said for years they've donated to charity literally tons of food from the jail industries garden, although last year the garden was only 3 1/2 acres.

This year, Baldwin hopes to harvest around 30 tons, which will be divided in half — half going back to feed inmates in the jail and the rest going to food banks and qualifying Orem residents.

"There's a concern because a lot of (residents) have small orchards," said Joyce Johnson, director of Neighborhood in Action, a citizens group that acts as a liaison between the city and its residents. "They're concerned about that, but not so concerned they're not going to spray. People recognize that it is for the greater good."

Yet the concern still brings up questions: "Why does my area have to be sprayed if there was no beetle found?" "Will tomatoes in pots be safe?" "Can my kids play on the grass?"