Japanese beetle numbers down in Orem as eradication efforts near end

OREM — For four years, Meredith Seaver's neighborhood has been infested with Japanese beetles.

But the destructive insects have almost completely disappeared thanks to a vigorous eradication program that has significantly shrunk the affected area in Orem every year.

Next week, lawn care experts will apply what state officials hope is the final spray to the remaining infested land.

"I'm really impressed that we're so close to success," said Seaver, who discovered Orem's first Japanese beetle in her side yard in 2006.

After hundreds more were collected by the state, officials started a yearly eradication program that began with an initial spraying of 600 acres between I-15 and State Street.

Every year since then, the number of beetles has significantly decreased, and the affected area has shrunk, said Larry Lewis, spokesman for the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. On Wednesday, June 9, 46 acres of the Suncrest neighborhood — the only area still infested — will be sprayed.

"Every year, that area gets smaller and smaller," Lewis said. "We're trapping high numbers of Japanese beetles."

The eradication program uses a three-pronged approach: spraying grass to kill larvae in the ground, spraying plants to kill hatched beetles and setting traps to catch others. That process has reduced the number of beetles caught by 95 percent over the past two years. Last year, only five beetles were trapped.

"Other states have had difficulty eradicating them," Lewis said of the beetles. "We're hoping that the combination of those two applications will help us reach zero this year."

Though gardening restrictions were placed on the area for one year and green-waste restrictions have been enforced, Seaver said the yearly eradication efforts have had little impact on residents' routines.

"It was just like having a lawn service come and spray your lawn," she said.

The green-waste restrictions are being lifted, and no trees or plants will be sprayed this year, Lewis said.

"We're hoping that there will be no beetles that emerge in July and August and that we trap no beetles this year," he said. "If they keep emerging, we're going to have to keep spraying."