Public risk perception hampers light brown apple moth quarantine-eradication efforts in northern California urban areas

The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and USDA officials began quarantine and eradication efforts in 2007 against the invasive Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM), Epiphyas postvittana (Walker) in counties near the Bay Area of northern California. Aerial application of a synthetic pheromone attractive to LBAM males was presumed by CDFA and USDA to be the prefered method of eradication in urban areas due to its reduced-risk status. However, numerous community groups have resisted aerial applications, basing their fears on the unknown effects of the pheromone on public and environmental health. We hypothesize that the application method was not considered by either party as the central component to generate anxiety and negative reactions. We provide herein a matrix of the impact of LBAM eradication techniques and divergent understandings of risk to explain how public support has eroded for quarantine-eradication for this, and potentially other, invasive arthropods. This case should inform decision-making processes in future invasive species eradication programs.