Santa Clara County agricultural officials are taking extreme measures Monday—including going door-to-door—to track down more than 1,000 grapevine plants sold at Costco that may be harboring an invasive pest. The glassy-winged sharpshooter is a small insect capable of spreading Pierce’s dise ase, a condition that can decimate local vineyards, nurseries, and farms. Approximately 1,300 grapevine plants were shipped to the area from Fresno and Southern California and were subsequently purchased by local Costco shoppers in April and May. While Costco has successfully recovered about 200 of the plants so far, county officials are not waiting for the remaining customers to return them. Biologists began visiting homes on Monday to physically uproot and retrieve the plants, starting in Gilroy. “We really wanted to start here in South County because this is where a big part of our grape and wine industries [are] located, so we want to provide protection for our growers,” said Ericka Mora, Santa Clara County deputy agricultural commissioner. Following the collections in Gilroy, crews plan to expand their recovery efforts to San Jose. When crews visit a home, they remove the grapevine directly if the resident is present. If no one is home, workers leave a notice on the door equipped with bags, ties, and instructions on how to prepare the plant for a follow-up collection within two days. Vivian Volpe, a county associate biologist and standards specialist, emphasized the time-sensitive nature of the mission. “This is pretty urgent because we want to make sure that this is contained as soon as possible, just because of the fact that these plants have been in these homes for a little over a month,” Volpe said. Volpe noted that the physical removals have gone smoothly, as the recently planted vines do not yet have extensive root systems. She added that residents have been highly cooperative. “They wanted to make sure none of their plants got diseases either and to keep the community safe,” Volpe said. “It was a very good interaction all the way around.” County officials urge anyone who purchased the grapevine plants but has not yet been contacted to call the Santa Clara County agricultural department immediately. Experts warn that even if the glassy-winged sharpshooter is not visible on the plant, the insect may have already laid eggs, which poses an equal threat to local agriculture and crops. ...read more read less