Departmental Surveys

As South Carolina’s plant pest regulatory agency, DPI surveys the state in response to new and ongoing invasive pest introductions.  We need to have accurate information about the extent of a pest population in order to make proper decisions about quarantines and other mitigation strategies. DPI surveys regularly for state and federal noxious weeds as well as quarantined insect pests, pathogens and plant parasitic nematodes.  Ongoing surveys for sweetpotato weevil, emerald ash borer, and the guava root knot nematode provide data on where they are established and how fast they are spreading if at all.  This information helps DPI make decisions about how best to battle each of these important plant pests, all of which have been detected in South Carolina.