Texas setting New World screwworm traps in El Paso, other parts of the state
AUSTIN, Texas (KVIA) -- Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller says the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) launched a New World Screwworm Trapping Plan. Some new traps will be set in the El Paso area. The pest has been reported 70 miles south of the border in Mexico.
The strategy involves placing traps in key high-risk zones along the border and around major port regions, including in the El Paso area. They will be placed from the Maverick/Webb County line just west of Laredo to Brownsville. The traps will also be placed at the Brownsville, Del Rio, El Paso, Laredo, and Houston livestock export pens, as well as the Galveston and Corpus Christi port regions.
The department will install Red Delta Traps, Black Delta Traps, and black PVC traps. Samples from the traps will be sent to the USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) Parasite Identification Lab.
“The New World screwworm poses a serious threat to Texas livestock and rural communities,” said Commissioner Miller. “We are taking proactive steps to monitor, detect, and stop this parasite before it harms Texas agriculture. Our farmers, ranchers, and consumers depend on us being ready, and we will be.”
