Box tree moth Quarantine Expanded; Now includes Cumberland, Atlantic, and Cape May Counties

This PPA post has no legal bearing.

This is a long but extremely important post about the expansion of the Box Tree Moth (BTM) Quarantine into the major boxwood production counties of New Jersey. This impacts everyone in NJ – Please read this message.

What is box tree moth:

Box Tree Moth (Cydalima perspectalis) is an invasive insect pest native to East Asia, as its larvae are voracious feeders that can completely defoliate and kill Boxwood (Buxus species) plants. The aggressive, destructive nature of the Box Tree Moth’s caterpillar life stage makes it essential to quickly take action as soon as damage is detected as defoliation can occur within 10 days. The risk of human movement of infested nursery stock, plant material, and debris will rapidly expand the pest’s range. The nursery and landscape industries that rely on Boxwood plants generate more than $9.8 million in economic activity annually within New Jersey and an estimated $140 million annually throughout the United States, according to data provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) National Agricultural Statistics Service. The New Jersey Department of Agriculture (“Department”) has determined the Box Tree Moth to be an injurious insect that is dangerous and destructive to the horticultural and agricultural industries, residential landscapes, and heritage plantings of Boxwood plants throughout the State.

On June 10, 2026, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDAAPHIS) confirmed that Box Tree Moth was detected on residential plantings in Middle Township, Cape May County, New Jersey, and this was the first confirmed detection of this pest in New Jersey.

On August 21, 2026, the Department and USDA staff further detected Box Tree Moth on residential plantings in Commercial Township, Cumberland County, New Jersey; and the detection of Box Tree Moth in Cumberland County also threatens the nearby area of Atlantic County. USDA-APHIS has previously detected Box Tree Moth in Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, and Michigan, and every one of these states established intrastate quarantines that restrict the movement of host plants, plant parts, and any articles capable of harboring life stages of the Box Tree Moth.

All life stages of box tree moth are active in southern NJ as of today, 8/27/2026.

What is happening: Expansion of quarantine into Cumberland and Atlantic Counties

Box tree moth quarantine expanded to Cumberland and Atlantic counties.
Important information from: Box Tree Moth Quarantine Order for Cape May, Cumberland and Atlantic Counties New Jersey State Board of Agriculture, Approved by State Board of Agriculture on August 26, 2026 – PLEASE READ THE DOCUMENT – This is a ‘Stop Shipment’ level event in those counties.

“C. Quarantine area

By order of the State Board of Agriculture pursuant to N.J.S.A. 4:1-21.5 and N.J.S.A. 4:7, in order to control the spread of Box Tree Moth the following Counties are hereby quarantined:
Cape May County
Cumberland County
Atlantic County
This Order shall not be construed to limit the Department’s authority to quarantine additional counties, as necessary, consistent with its existing statutory authorities.”

“II. THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the following requirements and restrictions concerning the movement of Boxwood plants, debris, and other regulated articles shall take effect:

Restrictions on movement of plant material; Disposal

No business may move any regulated articles listed in this Order outside the quarantine area designated in this Order without a signed Compliance Agreement and certification issued by the Department.
A private individual or non-business entity seeking to move any regulated articles listed in this Order outside the quarantine area designated in this Order (Cape May, Cumberland, and Atlantic Counties) must first receive prior written authorization from the Department.
Infested or dead Regulated articles must be disposed of within the designated quarantined area (Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic Counties). This requirement is applicable to all businesses, including those with a signed Compliance Agreement and certification.

Regulated articles

Regulated articles are as follows:
Boxwood plants (Buxus species).
Boxwood plant debris or dead boxwood plant material;
The Box Tree Moths at any life stage; and d. Any means of conveyance for the Boxwood plant including, but not limited to: soil, pots, containers, and truck beds, or when it is determined by the Department that the regulated article presents a risk of spreading Box Tree Moth.”

“F. Mandatory Compliance Agreement for businesses; certification

No regulated articles may be moved out of the designated quarantine area of Cape May, Cumberland and Atlantic Counties, unless in compliance with the requirements set forth in this section.
Businesses moving regulated articles out of the quarantine area are required to sign a Compliance Agreement and receive a certification issued by the Department prior to moving the regulated articles.
The technical requirements, specifications, and standards for compliance with this Order are set forth in the Compliance Agreement labeled “BTM Compliance Agreement” at https://www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/pi/prog/BoxtreeMoth.shtml (www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/pi/pdf/2026_BTM%20NJ%20Comp%20Agmt.pdf)
This includes technical requirements for the proper use of traps, pre-inspections of plant materials, employee training requirements, recordkeeping requirements, and the proper use of insecticides.
The “Pest Management Plan“” required by the Compliance Agreement shall be considered satisfied by the execution of the compliance agreement itself.
The “Certification” referenced in the Compliance Agreement is a general-use certificate authorizing a business to move Boxwood plants and other regulated articles out of the quarantine area in compliance with these rules. The Department does not require individual certificates for individual movements of regulated articles by businesses.”

If you operate in Cumberland, Cape May, & Atlantic Counties:

Read and understand:
- Box Tree Moth (BTM) Compliance Agreement for BTM Regulated Nurseries & Nursery Stock Plant Dealers [NJ]
  - Understand each section of the Compliance Agreement as this is the only path forward to resume shipping from quarantined counties.
- Box Tree Moth Quarantine Order for Cape May, Cumberland and Atlantic Counties New Jersey State Board of Agriculture, Approved by State Board of Agriculture on August 26, 2026
  - Understand that this applies to ANYONE transporting any part of a boxwood from the quarantined counties. Understand disposal, this pest has caused severe landscape damage already in southern NJ.
Visit the NJ Department of Agriculture Box Tree Moth (BTM) webpage
Start the process of obtaining the mandatory traps, pheromone lures, and pesticide strips.
1. From Compliance Agreement –
3. Below is from the NJDA BTM website (linked above)
  1. Alpha Scents, Inc:
    - BTM Lure: https://alphascents.com/products/box-tree-moth-lure
    - Uni-trap (green): https://alphascents.com/collections/traps-1/products/uni-trap-green
  2. Evergreen Growers Supply
    - BTM Lure: https://www.evergreengrowers.com/box-tree-moth-lure.html
    - Uni-trap (green): https://www.evergreengrowers.com/green-uni-trap.html
  3. ChemTica
    - Uni-Trap (green) https://www.chemtica.com/site/?p=3700
  4. Great Lakes IPM
  5. Trece
    - has lures and may have green bucket traps: https://www.trece.com/products/insect-traps-lures/
Note: If you have already been utilizing the monitoring traps – please contact your local nursery inspector to expedite the Compliance Agreement process and ability to resume shipping.
Seek Compliance Agreement training:
1. Contact your local NJDA Nursery inspector to establish training appointments.
2. Attend the Rutgers/NJDA/NJNLA BTM Training session on Sept. 17th – see details below. This is open to operators both within and outside of the quarantined counties and will count as the mandatory first step in Compliance Agreement training, regardless of your counties quarantine status.
Understand the mandatory pesticides as described in the Compliance Agreement – See Appendix 1. Insecticides for BTM control

Steps to take if you see this pest:

Report BTM observations
- New Jersey Department of Agriculture – Box Tree Moth (BTM) website (click here)
- Direct link to NJDA – BTM Reporting Tool (click here)
THEN Eradication:
- Treat infested plants with Compliance Agreement cited materials (within Compliance Agreement – Appendix 1). Follow all label requirements, especially REIs. The label is the law.
- Only after treatment efficacy has been confirmed and REI completed can you consider moving to the next step.
(If applicable) Removal:
- Once REI is complete, and the pesticide treatments are lethal to BTM, remove infested boxwoods. Boxwoods should be double bagged and taken to an in-county municipal dump.

Please educate yourself about this pest – Resources

If you see any significant amount of caterpillars in a boxwood plant it is EXTREMELY likely to be Box Tree Moth (BTM)

Video: Click here for- “Demystifying Box Tree Moth” – HRI
Factsheet: Box Tree Moth: Fact Sheet, Management & Visual Guide
OSU Guide: What to look for with Box Tree (Boxwood) Moth
USDA-APHIS Box Tree Moth : APHIS BTM Landing page

Box Tree Moth (BTM) Compliance Agreement Training + Rutgers RAREC Nursery Twilight 9/17/2026

Nursery & Ornamentals Twilight Meeting

Collaboratively held by RCE, NJNLA, & NJDA

Location: Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center (RAREC)

121 Northville Rd., Bridgeton, NJ 08302-5919

3:00PM to 4:00PM:

Meeting: Box Tree Moth Compliance Agreement Training – Collaboratively held by RCE, NJNLA, and NJDA.

Please join if you grow, manage, or transport boxwoods. This official NJDA training satisfies the first mandatory requirement to be in compliance if the quarantine expands.

Anticipated credits: 2-PP2, 2-3A, 2-9, Certificate of Completion

_______________________________

4:00PM to 7:30PM:

Meeting: Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center (RAREC) – Nursery & Ornamentals Twilight

Collaboratively held by RCE & NJNLA

4:00 pm – Arrival / Networking / Vendors / Look at plots

4:30 pm – Dinner (BBQ Boyz) / Networking / Vendors

5:30 pm – Presentation (1hr): (Outside) Ornamental IPM Implementation (Waller & Errickson)

6:30 pm – Presentation (1hr): (Inside) CORE SAFETY UPDATES (Presenter TBD)

7:30PM – Adjourn and signing for credits

Anticipated credits: 2-PP2, 2-CORE, 2-3A, 2-2, 2-1A, 2-10

Registration is required – Click here to register (select Guest if not a NJNLA member)