Pests Baselland tightens regulations in the fight against the Japanese beetle

From a ban on watering to plant quarantine: five days after Basel-Stadt, Baselland has also issued a new general decree to combat the Japanese beetle, as announced by the Department of Economic Affairs and Health on Wednesday.

Following Basel-Stadt, the canton of Baselland has also extended the infestation and buffer zones to combat the Japanese beetle. While beetles were originally trapped in the Brüglinger Ebene in Münchenstein BL, individual specimens have now also been caught in Rankhof, Rosenfeldpark, Wolfgottesacker, Thiersteinerrain, in the Rhine harbor (Westquai) and on Kraftwerkinsel.

The infestation zone on Basel territory has therefore been extended to include parts of the municipalities of Münchenstein, Muttenz, Birsfelden and Binningen. There, as in parts of Basel-Stadt, the watering of lawns is prohibited until the end of September. Green material, compost and soil may also only leave the area under strict conditions.

Since June 20, 67 adult Japanese beetles have been caught. According to the Basel authorities, catches at the original site in the Brüglingen plain have fallen sharply since the control measures were introduced. This gives hope that the control measures introduced, such as milling and covering the green areas, are having an effect.