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County staff respond after plants infested with glassy-winged sharpshooter shipped to Costco
Summary
Lake County staff reported inspections and removals of plants shipped from a Fresno County nursery that were found infested with glassy‑winged sharpshooter; two laboratory samples were negative and a third is pending, and residents who bought plants April 21–May 22 are asked to contact county staff.
An agency official told the Lake County Board of Supervisors on June 2 that shipments of plants from a Fresno County nursery to multiple Costco stores were discovered to be infested with glassy‑winged sharpshooter, an invasive insect that spreads Pierce’s disease.
"We have responded to 15 properties with plants purchased from neighboring Costco stores," the agency official said, describing how staff collected homeowner‑permitted plants, inspected them at the office and arranged for destruction when warranted. County staff have set monitoring traps at affected properties and submitted samples to the state laboratory. Two submitted samples have returned negative results; a third sample is pending.
The official said the insect is not known to be present in Lake County. They urged anyone who purchased plants from Costco between April 21 and May 22 to contact the county at the number provided during the meeting.
The board did not take formal action during public comment but accepted the update and fielded a clarifying question about the purchase window.
The county’s response so far has emphasized removal by consent, short‑term trapping for detection and laboratory confirmation before broader action is taken. The official said staff will continue weekly monitoring of traps and will notify residents of any confirmed detections or further steps.
Next steps identified by staff include completing lab results on the pending sample and continuing outreach to potentially affected residents.
