The National Agricultural Pest Information System (NAPIS) consolidates the plant pest survey data gathered through the USDA's Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS) program as well as other invasive pest surveys. NAPIS currently has 1.3 million records on more than 3800 different organisms including insects, pathogens, weeds, and biological control organisms. Pest Tracker is the public access website of the NAPIS system.

Get the latest pest information about Kentucky and state survey maps from Pest Tracker on NAPIS: Pest Tracker State Information: Kentucky.

Recent Invasive Pests in Kentucky

Below is a list of the most recent finds of invasive pests in Kentucky. The pest name is a link which will take you to a page with more information on the pest.

Spotted Lanternfly

• We first found this insect in Kentucky in 2023 in Gallatin County thanks to an observant homeowner.
• Since this pest was first found in Pennsylvania in 2014, Penn State has a website with a lot of great information.
• This article has some information about management options if you're experiencing large numbers.

Box Tree Moth

• This moth was first discovered in the US in 2021 in New York.
  • Since then it has been detected in Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky
• We, along with USDA personnel in the state, conducted a targeted Box Tree Moth (BTM) Survey in 2025 in northern Kentucky.
  • One USDA trap caught 1 moth in July and another in August.
  • One of our traps caught 1 moth in August and a different one of our traps caught 1 moth in September.
  • All moths were captured in Campbell County

Vascular Streak Dieback (VSD) Disease

• Our office participated in a multi-state survey for this disease in 2023 and 2024. 2024 was the first year we detected the disease in Kentucky.
• In 2024, our nursery inspector collected 7 samples, 3 of which tested positive for VSD. The positive samples came from a redbud in a state park, a maple in a retail box store, and a redbud in a nursery. Positive counties are shown on the map below, with 1 positive site per county.

Laurel Wilt Disease

• Our colleagues at the Kentucky Division of Forestry first detected this disease in Kentucky in 2019.

Pine Shoot Beetle

• A member of our office first detected Pine Shoot Beetle in Kentucky in 2015 while conducting a trapping survey for this pest.  

Emerald Ash Borer

• Our office first detected this insect in Kentucky in 2009 thanks to an observant homeowner who contacted us about his dying ash trees.

Hemlock Woolly Adelgid

• A member of our office detected the first Hemlock Woolly Adelgid infestation in Kentucky in 2006 while conducting a visual survey for this pest.

Spongy Moth

• We conduct extensive surveys for this pest every year with thousands of traps. A few individuals are captured in Kentucky each year, but there are no populations established in the state. The graph below shows numbers of moths captured each year since the survey program began.

Imported Fire Ant

• Mounds are detected and eradicated in western Kentucky periodically, through observant citizens as well as dedicated surveys conducted by our office each year. The enlarged map of western Kentucky below shows detections from 2000-2017 which were all eradicated.

• In 2022, mounds were detected in southern Kentucky in McCreary and Whitley Counties.