• Home
• Lessons
  • 1. Introduction to Pest Surveillance
  • 2. Pest Surveillance Methods
  • 3. Conducting a Pest Survey
  • 4. Module Conclusion
• Topics
  • 1. Selecting Traps and Lures
  • 2. Recording and Reporting
  • 3. Practice with Berry Beetle
• Resources
  • Help
  • Glossary
  • Documents and Videos
  • Acknowledgements

Lesson 3: Conducting a Pest Survey

Topic 2: Recording and Reporting

Once you collect specimens in the traps, you need an expert to identify any potential pests of regulatory significance. The NPPO is responsible for providing or approving appropriate diagnostic services to support general and specific survey activities (see ISPM 6). This could mean coordinating with university researchers, establishing an internal expert, or using another service. Ultimately, the NPPO is responsible for identifying a pest and ensuring the identification is accurate. The characteristics of a good diagnostic service include:

• Expertise in disciplines relevant to pest and host identification
• Adequate facilities and equipment
• Access to specialists for confirmation
• Facilities for record keeping
• Facilities for processing and storing voucher specimens
• Use of standard operating procedures

Remember, specific surveys have international standards that must be followed (ISPM 6) and the last step to discuss in record keeping. The following is a brief overview about creating and keeping records.

Your NPPO should keep records from general surveillance and specific surveys. The information you use must be appropriate for your intended purpose. Keep in mind that surveillance records can support specific pest risk analysis (PRA), establishment of pest-free areas, and/or preparation of pest lists. One type of information that may be required for a PRA may not be needed for establishment of pest-free areas. Initial specimens that are collected should be retained and curated for future reference, where appropriate.

The official records should include as much of the following information as possible:

• Scientific name of pest including family/order
• Scientific name of host and plant part affected or means of collection (e.g., attractant trap, soil sample, sweep net)
• Locality, location codes, addresses, coordinates
• Date of collection and name of collector
• Date of identification and name of identifier
• Date of confirmation and name of identifier
• References, if any
• Additional information, such as nature of host relationship, infestation status, growth stage of plant affected, or found only in greenhouses

All personnel involved in surveillance should be adequately trained in appropriate fields of plant protection and data management. Where appropriate, personnel should also be audited on:

• sampling methods
• preservation and transportation of samples
• identification and record keeping

We have already discussed some sampling methods for surveillance. The preservation and transportation of samples is beyond the scope of this module. So, we will conclude with some instruction about pest surveillance record keeping. One of the most common and useful records is the trap card. A trap card is a common method for making records out in the field. The following illustrates how to use trap cards to help build accurate survey records.

After you finish gathering your entire data set for surveillance, you must write an official report and make it widely available (ISPM 6). Transparency is a critical component of building trust with trading partners. Reports from surveillance programs do not need to be lengthy or complicated. However, they should include complete information about managing a pest threat and be easily accessible.

NPPOs should maintain and deliver surveillance reports on request for:

• pest presence or absence
• pest distribution

All reports should include locations and dates of pest occurrences.

Here a representative example of an official pest report taken from the North American Plant Protection Organization NAPPO emerald ash borer report. See where the pertinent information has been included.

Official Pest Reports Official Pest Reports are provided by National Plant Protection Organizations within the NAPPO region. These Pest Reports are intended to comply with the International Plant Protection Convention’s Standard on Pest Reporting, endorsed by the Interim Commission on Phytosanitary Measures in March 2002. Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis): Counties in Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, and Tennessee added to the regulated area Date posted: 08/01/2013 Contact: Jon Smith, EAB National Policy Manager Effective immediately, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is adding the following counties to the list of regulated areas for emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis: Whitley County, Kentucky, Bollinger and Pulaski Counties, Missouri, Granville, Person, and Vance Counties, North Carolina, and Hamilton County, Tennessee. APHIS is taking these actions in response to the confirmation of EAB in Whitley County, Kentucky, in May 2013; in Bollinger and Pulaski Counties, Missouri, in June, 2013; in Granville County, North Carolina, in May 2013; and in Hamilton County, Tennessee, in June, 2013. The Federal Order outlines specific conditions for the interstate movement of EAB-regulated articles from the above-listed counties in Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, and Tennessee in order to prevent the spread of EAB to other states. Specifically, the interstate movement of EAB-host wood and wood products from these areas is regulated, including firewood of all hardwood species, nursery stock, green lumber, waste, compost, and chips of ash species. EAB is present in some portions of the United States. Due to the continuing spread of EAB, APHIS has established regulated areas, which are designated in the Federal regulations located at 7 CFR 301.53-3 and the Federal Orders located at the following APHIS website: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/emerald_ash_b/quarantine.shtml EAB, an invasive wood boring beetle, is native to China and eastern Asia. The interstate movement of firewood from regulated areas is an especially high-risk pathway for spreading EAB. APHIS works with State cooperators and foresters to prevent human assisted movement of EAB, develop biological and other controls for EAB, and raise public awareness about this pest and the potential threats associated with long distance movement of firewood. Under IPPC Standards, Agrilus planipennis is considered to be a pest that is present in some parts of the United States and subject to official control to prevent further spread.

Reports like these will help you and your trading partners better understand pest threats.

A Note About Record Keeping

To provide effective reports and use information in the ways just discussed, you need an organized, reliable system to store surveillance data. This system should be easily accessible to anyone who needs to report surveys and use the information. A good system should have the following:

• Central, national repository actively maintained by either the NPPO or another institution designated by the NPPO
• Record keeping and retrieval system such as a computer database
• Data verification procedures
• Clear communication pathways for reporting and transferring information from the original source to the national repository

The fire moth scenario is just one example of a pest surveillance program. Remember, there are many types of pests such as animals, pathogens, and invasive plants (weeds). The different types of pests require different surveillance methods. Pathogens need proper sampling and laboratory testing procedures beyond the basic survey collection methods shown here.

To continue, select Topic 3 from the Topics menu above or click here.