West Michigan's Nature Needs Your Help
Scroll below to see what actions you can take to combat the spread of invasive species and restore local habitat
HWA Pesticide Application Instructions for Residential Landowners
When applying any pesticide, be sure to follow all instructions on the label: with pesticides the label is the law.
Click on the images for more information
Purchase HWA Predator Beetles
Landowners can purchase the two commercially available insects, S. tsugae and L. nigrinus, via these hyperlinks. The West Michigan Wildlife Conservancy has no affiliation with these vendors.
These are some common questions we get regarding these beetles answered:
Will these beetles become pests on my property? No, you will likely not even notice them unless you search for them carefully.
Can these beetles become invasive species themselves? No, they cannot. Both species have been released extensively for decades in the Eastern US.
Am I allowed to buy and release them? Yes, there is no license required and both species are approved for release by APHIS, the federal governing body that regulates the release biological control species, with S. tsugae being approved in the mid 1990s and L. nigrinus being approved in the early 2000s.
Which species is better for me to buy? Either option is good, but S. tsugae colonies are less expensive and availability is usually higher, however that may vary based on the year.
Do they actually work? Yes. we can say first hand that the results of S. tsugae releases this year have been extremely impressive.