The eradication of Asian longhorned beetle at Paddock Wood, UK

Abstract

In March 2012, an outbreak of Anoplophora glabripennis was detected at Paddock Wood, Kent, UK. The epicentre of the outbreak was adjacent to a site that a company had used for storing imported stone in wood packaging. An eradication campaign was initiated involving the agencies responsible for plant health and forestry in England and Wales. The area was initially surveyed by visual inspection of standing trees from the ground and 24 infested trees were detected. This method was more effective for detecting trees with A. glabripennis exit holes than trees at an early stage of infestation. A further 42 infested trees were detected when the infested trees and host trees within 100 m of them were felled and the felled material was inspected. The most important host tree species was Acer pseudoplatanus (43 of the 66 infested trees). Tree climbers inspected the trees between 100 and 300 m of infested trees three times. They found damage caused by native pests that it had not been possible to detect from the ground but no A. glabripennis. Other surveillance techniques used were the regular inspection of favoured host trees over a wide area and the planting and regular inspection of favoured host trees in the core of the outbreak area. Pheromone trapping and the use of detection dog teams were trialled during the outbreak. Public meetings, leaflet drops, press releases, television features and school visits were all used to communicate with local residents and other stakeholders. No A. glabripennis were detected after the initial removal of trees in 2012 and eradication was declared after seven years of surveillance in 2019. The outbreak was likely to have been present for 10 or 11 years, but population development is likely to have been limited by the sub-optimal climatic conditions, especially the UK’s relatively cool summers.