Kennewick has first sighting of new invasive insect in state

Posted on November 18, 2014

Elm seed bugs have infested a south Kennewick neighborhood, marking the pest's first appearance in Washington and second in the U.S. (Photo courtesy of GenTek Pest Control, Treasure Valley, Idaho)

Drew Foster Tri-City Herald

KENNEWICK The interlopers arrived in mid-July.

They would cluster around outside walls, bask on windowsills and wander into bedrooms and bathrooms. They posed no harm, but smelled a little funky.

Paul Krupin didnt recognize the uninvited guests at first glance they had never before visited his south Kennewick home. He and his wife, Nancy, leafed through books trying to identify the visitors. They formed theories and consulted experts. The interlopers were positively identified in October.

They were elm seed bugs, and they had never before been found in Washington.

Specimens provided by Krupin, 62, to a local Washington State University Extension office proved to be the first evidence of the nuisance bugs presence in the state and just the second report in the nation. The bugs were first found in 2012 in the Treasure Valley region of western Idaho and eastern Oregon. They are native to south-central Europe and likely entered the U.S. accidentally.

We suspect that they may have tried to overwinter in cargo, said Mike Bush, an entomologist with WSUs Yakima extension office.

Bush said elm seed bugs have likely established themselves in Krupins south Kennewick neighborhood, meaning they wont be leaving. During the hot summer months, Krupin said thousands would congregate around his home and penetrate the building through the smallest of openings.

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Kennewick has first sighting of new invasive insect in state