The Yakima County Horticultural Pest & Disease Board is an official County entity created to protect the interests of the commercial tree fruit industry from the invasion of insect pests and plant diseases that can negatively impact fruit production in Yakima County.

The primary activity of the Board is to investigate reports of neglected residential trees, commercial or abandoned orchards that can generate insect pests and plant diseases that will invade commercial fruit operations. If necessary, the Board can take remedial action to assure the problem trees or orchard are properly taken care of. Often, all this involved is an educational effort. Sometimes pest management strategies may be applied by the Board at the owner's expense. In some instances, the best strategy may be to remove the trees or abandoned orchards.

It is important to note that by law, all land owners have a civic duty to control and prevent the spread of horticultural pests and diseases that can negatively impact the County's tree fruit industry. This law gives the Board the authority to carry out their activities even without the owner's cooperation. For more information on the legal role of Horticultural Pest Boards, follow this link and select "Title 15-Agriculture & Marketing" and check out RCW 15.09.060.

Here in Yakima County, the key "action pests" or pests of concern are codling moth, San Jose scale, cherry fruit fly, pear psylla and apple maggot. Certainly there are other insect pests and plant diseases whose populations can build up in neglected trees and abandoned orchards. These pests can render tree fruit inedible and can lead to overseas quarantines of fruit produced in Yakima County.

If you are a commercial fruit producer and suspect that you have a "dirty neighbor" whose neglected trees or abandoned orchard are infested with pests that can invade your orchard, we recommend that you contact that neighbor and try a "soft" approach to convince them to take proper care of those trees or orchards. Do not "confront" or threaten them. Be sure to follow up with them shortly thereafter and offer them friendly advice or assistance. If this approach does not work, then we encourage you to fill out, sign and file a complaint form with the Yakima County Horticultural Pest & Disease Board. Just call our office (509-225-2609) to request a copy of this form or click here (PDF file) to download the form.

This complaint form will initiate an investigation by the Board into the "dirty neighbor" situation. Without a signed complaint form, the Yakima County Horticultural Pest & Disease Board cannot perform our mission to protect the interests of the commercial tree fruit industry, a key contributor to the economy of our County.

Thank you for your interest!

Board Members: Dale Gamache (Chairman); Miles Kohl, Paul Rush, Terry Fewel and Mike Klaus.

Advisory Members: Mike Bush and Mike Willett

Board Inspector: Ron Britt