Published on 7 May 2026

Check your luggage and your car, stop the Japanese beetle

The Japanese beetle is spreading across Switzerland – often accompanying people as they travel, without being noticed. Here you will find where they are found, how to spot them, and a handy checklist to help you get home beetle-free.

© Federal Office for Agriculture FOAG

The Japanese beetle – an unwelcome travel companion

Anyone who finds a Japanese beetle in their luggage or car should eliminate it immediately and report it.

The Japanese beetle is a voracious pest. It eats over 400 different plants – from fruit trees and vines in the fields, to roses and lime trees in the park. It often travels with us unnoticed, spreading from infested areas to new regions. Its larvae and eggs can be transported in soil, while adult beetles hide in plants or in garden waste – or hitch a ride as stowaways in cars, trains, trucks and planes.

Anyone returning from an infested area in the south – for example, from Ticino or northern Italy – can do a lot to stop this: Check your luggage and car carefully before setting off for home. Further down this page, you will find a checklist for your journey home from the south.

Please take care when travelling from these infested areas

Anyone returning from any of the following places should check their luggage and car before setting off – and know what the Japanese beetle looks like.

• Northern Italy (Lombardy and Piedmont) - e.g. Milan, Varese, Novara, Biella, Vercelli, Asti, Alessandria, Pavia, Lodi.
• Ticino (entire canton)
• Graubünden (particularly Misox)
• Valais (particularly the Simplon region)

The Japanese beetle is established in these areas and its spread is being contained.

• Popillia japonica - Infestation status May 2026

  PNG665.54 kB6 May 2026

How to spot it

Size: An adult beetle is about the size of a coffee bean (1–1.2 cm long)
Colour: It has a shiny metallic green head and upper body and copper-brown forewings
Distinctive features: It has five small tufts of white hair on each side of its abdomen. It also has two larger tufts of white hair at its rear.
Observation period: Adult beetles are seen mainly in summer (June–September)

Important: The Japanese beetle resembles some harmless native beetles and so is often mistaken for them. The following photographs will help you to identify the Japanese beetle in comparison with other beetles.

(only in German, French and Italian) — © Federal Office for Agriculture FOAG

(only in German, French and Italian) — © Federal Office for Agriculture FOAG

(only in German, French and Italian) — © Federal Office for Agriculture FOAG

(only in German, French and Italian) — © Federal Office for Agriculture FOAG

(only in German, French and Italian) — © Federal Office for Agriculture FOAG

Previous image

Next image

Checklist for the journey home

Before leaving an infested area, check your luggage and car thoroughly.

➡️ Check your luggage

• Clothing, especially outdoor clothing, jackets, shoes
• Bags (rucksacks, handbags, jacket pockets)
• Sports and outdoor equipment such as tents, sleeping bags and bivouacs
• Suitcases and travel bags, inside and out

➡️ Check the car

• Boot
• Seats and footwells
• All openings leading to the outside of the car (radiator grille, air vents, doors, windows, etc.)

Note: Do not park next to vineyards in infested areas – that is where the beetles particularly like to congregate. Also keep the windows of parked cars closed.

⚠️ If you find a Japanese beetle during your check:

• Catch the beetle and do not let it escape
• Check the beetle for the characteristic white tufts of hair on either side of the abdomen
• Eliminate the beetle (e.g. freeze it, crush it)
• Take a photograph of the dead beetle and note down the location where you found it
• Report the beetle immediately to the relevant cantonal plant protection service (only in German, French and Italian)

Whatever you do, don’t take any beetles home with you. Even if the Japanese beetle is only discovered during the journey or at home, it must be eliminated and reported to the cantonal plant protection service.

You can help!

Not heading south this summer? Here’s how you can still help stop the Japanese beetle:

• Please report any suspicious beetles that you find. The Japanese beetle can also be found outside infested areas. If you find a Japanese beetle, please notify the relevant cantonal plant protection service immediately.
• Know the facts and pass them on. Tell your friends, family and neighbours about the Japanese beetle.
• Share on social media. Repost the FOAG’s social media posts, using the hashtag #StopJapaneseBeetle.

Frequently asked questions

• Why is the Japanese beetle a problem?

  The Japanese beetle comes from Asia and is not native to Switzerland or Europe. Due to an absence of natural predators, it has been able to spread rapidly in our part of the world. What’s more, it is greedy and not fussy; it attacks over 400 different plants. It causes damage by feeding on leaves, flowers and fruit, which can lead to crop losses. The larvae of the Japanese beetle also feed on grass roots, which means they can cause significant damage, particularly to irrigated green spaces such as parks, sports fields and golf courses.

  In addition to the direct damage caused by the larvae, these areas often suffer secondary damage, such as that caused by wild boars or birds rooting through the soil in search of larvae to eat.

  

  Damage to a football pitch in Ticino. — © CPPS Ticino

  

  A vine with leaves that are heavily perforated and skeletonised. — © Luca Gaggini, Federal Plant Protection Service (SPPS)

  Previous image

  Next image

• How can I identify the Japanese beetle?

  Adult beetles are about the size of a coffee bean (1–1.2 cm), with a shiny metallic green head and upper body and copper-brown forewings.

  They have five small white tufts of hair visible on each side of the abdomen. They have two larger tufts of white hair on their rear. A unique feature is the way the Japanese beetle spreads its legs out to the sides when it feels threatened. The adult beetles are seen mainly in summer (June–September).

  The Japanese beetle should not be confused with harmless beetles native to Switzerland such as the garden chafer, the June beetle or the cockchafer.

  

  Five small white tufts of hair are visible on each side of the abdomen. There are two larger white tufts at the rear — © Corey Farwell, iNaturalist - CC BY 4.0, image edited (crop)

  

  When it feels threatened, the Japanese beetle spreads one pair of legs out to the sides. — © Christian Linder, Agroscope

  Previous image

  Next image

• Where exactly should I look for Japanese beetles, and how?

  Luggage and equipment

  Items left out in the open are particularly at risk: rucksacks, jute bags, tents, sleeping bags, picnic blankets and camping equipment. Check your clothes, shoes and suitcases inside and out.

  Car

  Check the interior, seats and footwells – especially if you’ve had the windows open. The beetles tend to hide when they feel disturbed, so they are not easy to find.

  This makes prevention all the more important: Do not park next to vineyards in infested areas, as this is where the beetles tend to congregate. Also keep the windows of parked cars closed.

• What should I do if I find a Japanese beetle?

  Any beetles found should be immediately removed, eliminated and reported to the cantonal plant protection service – even if they are only discovered during the journey or at home. You can find detailed step-by-step instructions in our checklist above. 

• Where has the Japanese beetle already spread to?

  The beetle is originally from Japan, but has been in Europe since 2014: the Japanese beetle first appeared near Milan and quickly spread across northern Italy. In the summer of 2017, the Japanese beetle was detected in Ticino for the first time. Today, Ticino, Misox (GR) and part of Valais are designated as containment zones – the beetle is established in these areas and its spread is being controlled. North of the Alps, there are a few isolated populations, in Zurich, Basel and Lucerne, for example. Active efforts are being made there to eradicate it completely.

Further information

• Links

  EPPO Global Database

• Legislation

  Ordinance on the Protection of Plants from Particularly Harmful Organisms
  Plant Health Ordinance, PHO of 31 October 2018

  Ordinance of the EAER and DETEC on the Plant Health Ordinance
  PHO-EAER-DETEC of 14 November 2019

Related topics