Knowledgeable nursery personnel should inspect plant shipments, which arrive from other states or countries, as soon as possible. If the plants are not checked upon arrival, a quarantine area can be designed for placement of new arrivals. This area would contain any potential pests at one location before the plants are moved to other nursery locations. At any time during the plant inspection, if an unknown organism is discovered, call CAES or transport a sample to CAES for proper identification. A quick response time limits the spread and potential damage from any pest.
Prevention is the easiest and most cost-effective step.
If the nonnative species has already escaped, the control and management steps become more costly and are usually less effective. Eradication of an invasive species is extremely difficult if not impossible. The management focus then shifts from eradication to population suppression, limiting the spread and reducing the effects. The overall goal is to restore the environment to its natural state. With the increased volume and speed of national and international trade, the risk of invasive species increases.