Plant Industry - Sweet Potato NC Quarantine Zones

NC Sweetpotato Weevil (SPW) Quarantine Zones

External (outside NC) and internal (inside NC) quarantines are established to restrict the movement of regulated commodities from infested areas (red tag or pink tag) to non-infested areas (green tag areas) and thus, reduce the risk of introducing sweetpotato weevil into weevil-free areas.  Movement of regulated articles from infested to non-infested areas in NC including sweetpotato plants and tubers, the sweetpotato weevil, ornamental sweetpotatoes or any potential host plant is strictly prohibited.  Click to view the external quarantine areas or a description of counties/parishes in these areas.  The internal quarantines are restricted to the coastal areas of Brunswick and New Hanover counties in NC.  Weevil populations in these areas rely on host plants like the sea side morning glory and other plant species in the morning glory family (Convolvulaceae) to maintain a resident population year round. 

The NC sweetpotato weevil quarantine area.  The NC sweetpotato weevil quarantine zone is restricted to the coastal areas of Brunswick and New Hanover counties and is delimited in each of these counties as follows:

• Brunswick County: The portion bordered on the North by the Intracoastal waterway, on the east by the Cape Fear River, on the South by the Atlantic Ocean and the west by a straight line beginning at the Junction of Hwy 133 with the Intracoastal Waterway extending South through the point where Hwy 133 ends and terminating at the junction where a straight line from Hwy133 and the Atlantic Ocean meet.
• New Hanover County: The entire island bordered on the West by the Cape Fear River, on the East by the Atlantic Ocean and on the North by the line established from the Carolina Beach Inlet from the Atlantic Ocean along the Intracoastal Waterway at the Snow Cut Canal until it reaches the Cape Fear River.

Surveys conducted in the NC sweetpotato weevil quarantine area.  Green bucket traps (Universal Moth Traps) are currently being deployed in the NC SPW Q area as part of an integrated pest management program for the sweetpotato weevil in NC. The traps are baited with high concentrations of SPW pheromone to catch weevils before they can mate, driving populations of this invasive pest down. Traps are checked monthly by NCDA&CS staff.  For additional information call 1-800-206-9333 or contact the State Plant Regulatory Official, Joy Goforth at:  (919) 707-3753 or Joy.Goforth@ncagr.gov