Image Credit: YouTube / Terra Mater Gardens

By Dylana Kneeshaw

INVASIVE SPECIES MANAGEMENT

City of Kamloops issues call for help to deal with invasive Japanese Beetle

Mar 19, 2025 | 4:41 PM

KAMLOOPS — The City of Kamloops is ramping up its efforts to get rid of the Japanese beetle, an invasive species that was found in the Kamloops last year.

Last year, 11 Japanese beetles were found in Kamloops and to keep the plant-eating pests from damaging the area, the City of Kamloops has been tasked with finding someone to eradicate them.

Utility Services Manager Greg Wightman says a request for proposals (RFP) has gone out for a contractor to spray around Exhibition Park on River Street.

“(They are) very prominent in the Lower Mainland. It’s been around since 2017,” he explains. “We’re able to leverage with a lot of other cities and their experiences and there’s a great group with federal and provincial agencies that are supporting us.”

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Area around River Street near Exhibition Park slated for Japanese beetle treatment. (Image Credit: City of Kamloops)

City Hall previously agreed to allocate $200,000 in the civic budget for invasive species management.

The city is required by the province to take measures to stop the spread of the Japanese Beetle. While the Canadian Food Inspection Agency may impose new restrictions on what plants or soil materials can be brought in and out of the area in order to minimize human-assisted spread of the insects.

“There will be a lot of impact on the public coming here once we have a regulated area established, “Wightman said. “That’s an area that will have a bunch of restrictions on movement of regulated articles. That’s just not finalized yet. We don’t have that information from the province.”

Gail Wallin, the executive director of the Invasive Species Council of B.C., previously told CFJC Today that people should be on the lookout for the Japanese beetle, which up until this point had only been

“It’s a species we don’t want in B.C. It doesn’t belong here, it comes from afar and it will actually attack over 300 different plant species and destroy your turf,” Wallin said. “There’s all of us willing to work with Kamloops to help B.C. become Japanese beetle free. That’s our goal.”

You can find more information on how to differentiate between the Japanese beetle and other similar looking insects here.

Information on how to report sightings of the Japanese beetle can be found here.