What to know about invasive glassy-winged sharpshooters and the threat they pose

The invasive insect was discovered on grapevines sold at Costco stores across Sacramento and multiple other counties, with additional counties in Northern California potentially involved. Officials are urging customers who bought the plants to contact their county agriculture office immediately.

Here are key takeaways:

• The glassy-winged sharpshooter carries Pierce’s disease, a bacterial infection often fatal to grapevines that can also affect almond, citrus and ornamental plants.
• So far, 160 grapevines delivered to Sacramento area Costco locations have been destroyed, but hundreds more remain unaccounted for in the community.
• Affected grapevines came from Burchell Nursery in Fresno County and were shipped to Costco stores in Alameda, Marin, Placer, San Mateo, Solano, Stanislaus, Yolo and Yuba counties.
• Authorities are still evaluating additional suspect samples from several other counties, including Butte, Contra Costa, Humboldt, Merced, Napa and Sonoma counties.
• The pest does not threaten humans or animals, but residents should not return, transport, relocate, dispose of or compost the plants, as that could spread the infestation.
• Anyone who bought grapevines, citrus trees or other fruit trees from an affected Costco starting April 21, 2026, should contact their county agriculture office.
• Costco is directly contacting members who purchased plants within the timeframe and county ag commissioners say it has been a cooperative partner.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.

Allison Gibson

The Sacramento Bee

916-321-1083

Allison Gibson is the service journalism and consumer editor for The Sacramento Bee. She joined The Bee in 2026 after spending four years at a newspaper in Santa Rosa. She has spent most of her career in TV newsrooms across the country, including a 24-hour local cable news channel and an NBC affiliate in Iowa. She grew up in Pittsburgh and attended Ohio University.