Efforts continue to eradicate invasive beetle in St. John's

There has been an increase in the number of detections of the Japanese beetle in the St. John’s area.

The Japanese beetle is an invasive species in Canada. The Department of Forestry, Agriculture and Lands is working with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and various industry stakeholders.

The agency has detected isolated and sporadic occurrences of Japanese beetle in Newfoundland and Labrador since 2014.

In 2024 and 2025, the species was detected in the St. John’s area, which indicated potential over-wintering, as there was no evidence linking the detections to imported plant material, as in previous occurrences.

Japanese beetle can spread quickly, especially via wind or through transportation of soil and plants. If not controlled, this insect poses a serious threat to agriculture, horticulture, landscaping and forestry industries, and may result in damage to lawns, sports fields and golf courses. Japanese beetle is known to feed on more than 300 plant species and has no natural predators.