Pest Prevention and Detection Division
The Pest Prevention and Detection Division includes several programs whose mission is to prevent the introduction of foreign pests. The Pest Exclusion Program is considered the first line of defense in fighting against foreign pests.
The best way to manage these pests is to deny them access. All commercial and many non-commercial shipments of plants and other goods capable of moving pests into the County are inspected.
Infested shipments and items in violation of the plant quarantine regulations are either returned to the sender, treated to remove the pest risk or destroyed. Inspections are made at nurseries, moving companies, trucking firms and common carriers such as UPS, FedEx, OnTrac and the post office.
Despite our best efforts, pests can slip through our inspections on undeclared goods or by smuggling. Through Federal funding, the department has a canine team trained to sniff out unmarked packages containing fruit and plant materials. Thousands of insect detection traps are placed in parts of the County most at risk from foreign pests. Frequent inspection of these traps allows us to find unwanted pests before the pests have a chance to become established.
