For the Rapids City Times

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – The Growing Friends Community Garden for the Wisconsin Rapids Area, on the corner of Hill Street and Spruce Street, is participating in a new and invasive plant pest monitoring survey conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture this summer. Officials say that these pests have yet to reach Wisconsin, and the monitoring survey is a way to confirm this.

The department had coordinated with local agriculture communities across the state to assess for the presence of the Golden twin spot moth, False codling moth, Leek moth, Spotted lanternfly, Cucurbit beetle, and Swede Midge.

Traps have been set up throughout the community gardens, and will be monitored during the growing season.

Megan Eames, of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, stated, “These traps are species specific by pheromones. In addition, we may also collect plant samples for lab testing if we notice any disease symptoms, and will be providing fact sheets for the pests we are monitoring for.”