What’s Bugging the Southeast

Mexican fruit fly in Texas. Citrus greening in California. Imported fire ants in Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. Ever wonder what sort of pests your state is currently under quarantine for? While looking into the Mexican fruit fly, I discovered a USDA APHIS pest tracker that pulls all of this information into one easy to use map.

Using the tracker, you can find out if your state has a federal quarantine, a state level quarantine, or both for any hungry pests. According to USDA APHIS, hungry pests are invasive species that threaten crops and trees and, if left unchecked, can devastate agricultural industries, eliminate jobs, threaten the food supply, and cost billions of dollars.

In the Southeast, the map highlights quarantines tied to imported fire ants, including Solenopsis invicta and Solenopsis richteri. These ants can feed on crops like corn, sorghum, small grains, forage grass, and citrus seedlings. Their large field nests interfere with cultivation and harvesting, damage equipment, and they can injure livestock and people. Fire ants also spread by hitchhiking on soil and agricultural commodities. To explore current quarantines in your state, visit https://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant-pests-diseases/fruit-flies