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Skagit County pest board reports record spotted‑wing drosophila catches, continues monitoring for regulated pests
Summary
The Skagit County Horticultural Pest Control Board presented 2025 trap results Oct. 6: large numbers of spotted‑wing drosophila were recorded and the board continues surveillance for apple maggot, brown marmorated stink bug, codling moth and potato psyllid.
The Skagit County Horticultural Pest Control Board reported seasonal monitoring results to the Board of County Commissioners on Oct. 6, with entomology coordinator Katie Hayes presenting trap counts and trends for several priority invasive pests.
Hayes said the board set traps at residential and commercial sites for species selected by local stakeholders. Spotted‑wing drosophila (SWD) was the highest‑count pest this year: Hayes reported 16,214 SWD caught across 37 traps for 2025 (an average of roughly 438 flies per trap in current sampling), a sharp increase over recent years. She said temperature and humidity have a strong effect on SWD populations and that late‑summer conditions favored higher numbers this season. Hayes noted growers reported that monitoring data nonetheless helped inform integrated pest‑management decisions and that yields remained strong at some operations.
Nut graf: The county’s pest monitoring program is continuing routine surveillance and outreach; Hayes said apple maggot and brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) remain priorities and that the program makes traps available to growers and homeowners through the Extension office.
Hayes provided counts for other monitored species: apple maggot — 76 adult flies from 30 traps; brown marmorated stink bug — 242 individuals (61 adults and 181 nymphs) from four traps; codling moth — one adult male from two traps; potato psyllid — zero detections from six traps. She highlighted that potato psyllid, which can carry the zebra chip pathogen, is a high‑risk pest for local potato growers and that detection would trigger additional responses. Hayes also said the board is watching other emerging pests (kudzu bug, spotted lanternfly, Japanese beetle and others) and will expand monitoring as warranted.
Ending: The pest board urged growers and residents to use Extension trap supplies and to report suspect pests; Hayes said continued monitoring and early detection remain critical to limit economic and quality losses for Skagit producers.
