The hardiness of mesquite, together with high seed production and a long-lived seed bank, means that control costs are high and long term. In addition infestations typically occur in remote, commercially low-value regions. It is planned that a further 24 releases of both the moth and the bug will be made by March 1999. Both species attack the leaves. The sap-sucking bug punctures the leaves, injects toxins and sucks out the sap.
Heavy infestations cause die-back and can kill entire plants.
By hitting regrowth and surviving plants, mechanical and chemical treatments may be more effective in eradication programs, with the possibility that fewer treatments will be required to exhaust the seed bank.