Well, for most of Florida it is, and in South Florida it never really left as far as air potato is concerned.
We wanted to let you know that the Air Potato Patrol program is back and we are here to help answer all of your questions. We are working hard to inform residents of how to accurately identify air potato, how to monitor for beetles and ways to use Integrated Pest Management techniques to reduce the volume of vines on your property. When it comes to releases of air potato beetles, the procedures for beetle distribution have been updated to reflect current needs across the state.
I requested last year, but supplies were out. I have an air potato vine in my back yard and. adjoining yards
Did you have beetles on your plants by the end of summer? This video will help you determine if they flew in from surrounding areas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkzZQCdve5o&t=5s
We received beetles in 2018 and 2019 to treat potato vines on a 2000 square foot cypress wetland lake edge in Orange County Florida. The beetles pretty much decimated the vines. We did not receive beetles in 2020 but beetles showed up either from overwintering on our property or from other areas close by. They destroyed a lot of the vines but there were a few vines that produced potatoes. More vines remained than in the previous two years. Towards the end of summer we did not see any more beetles. We have a lot of natural predators on our property – dragonflies, anole lizards, and predator wasps to name a few. I would like to receive beetles this year and would like to get my name on a list for Orange County. The area where the beetles are border an acre of wetland on a lake. Thank you.
I didn’t receive my air potato beetles last year, but interested in receiving them this year please
I would like to have beetles this year. The property is adjacent to a lake and has many invasive plants including the air potato vine.
I did not get any beetles last as I have been hospitalized. I came home to find the vines are back in numbers and have not spotted any beetles. Our property adjoins Johnson Creek in Manatee County. I am interested in receiving more beetles.
Please put us on the list for beetles again this year. We did see some activity toward the end of the season last October, but had a lot of bulbils set. I think I’ve got them all picked up??! I would love to see the vines eaten before the bulbils set. I’ve been battling these vines for 40 years.
The air potato patrol site cannot put you on a list to receive beetles. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) mass rears and distributes the beetles. Our website can be found here https://www.fdacs.gov/Divisions-Offices/Plant-Industry/Bureaus-and-Services/Methods-Development-Biological-Control/Biological-Control/Air-Potato-Vine-Biological-Control
We have kept records of all residents who used the previous request system and reached out to each of them. All those that replied to our inquiry and stated they still have vines and no beetles are set to receive beetles later this year. The hundreds who did not reply were removed from our records. This required extensive time and effort from our team. Thus, the first come first serve basis of the program is no longer efficient, so we have changed to a reporting system. As stated above this reporting form will help determine releases for 2021. Residents should wait one month to six weeks after vines return and then report the vines ONLY IF no beetles return. We will look at reporting data and distribute beetles to those areas where beetles are not naturally returning. We will as stated above be prioritizing preserves and conservation areas. We will also ensure beetle populations are large enough to establish by using the guidelines in the press release.
Beetles are most active from late May to August depending on your location in the state. We have tried early releases but the beetles will move on if vine infestations are too small to support larval growth. As the weather cools beetles stop producing eggs and begin to conserve energy for the winter. There is a small window for biological control. This is why collecting bulbils is so important to complement the beetles efforts!
We wish we could give everyone as many beetles as they wanted but in reality we produce about 50,000 beetles each year and we need to make sure we send them where they will be most effective. Check out our Air Potato Vine Management Guide for tips on what you can do to manage your vines https://www.fdacs.gov/Divisions-Offices/Plant-Industry/Plant-Industry-Publications/Methods-Circulars
I would like to be on list to receive beetles again as every year, so I can distribute them in invaded places in my small town Safety Harbor.