The Idaho State Department of Agriculture plans to treat for Japanese beetles in selected neighborhoods in Caldwell and Pocatello.

ISDA seeks permission from property owners in the neighborhoods. The department plans to treat lawn and turf areas with a granular insecticide, for control of larvae in soil, twice during the spring-summer season, according to the consent form.

Details and consent forms have been mailed to property owners in designated treatment zones, according to a department news release.

Treatment will be done only where owners give written consent.

Treatments are free. Consent forms are due April 18.

Japanese beetles are highly invasive pests of more than 300 plants, including some of Idaho’s top commodities, according to the ISDA release. If left unchecked, they pose a “significant threat to the state’s agriculture industry.”

The beetles were first detected in Canyon County, where Caldwell is located, in 2021. This will be the third consecutive year of eradication efforts in Caldwell.

Treatment zones are determined by ISDA’s 2024 trap findings in Caldwell and Pocatello.

Program detail and consent form: https://agri.idaho.gov/plant-industries/insects-pests/idaho-japanese-beetle/.