California Officials Recall Thousands of Costco Plants After Finding Invasive Insect

California agricultural officials are tracking down and removing thousands of plants sold through Costco stores after finding glassy-winged sharpshooters on the stock, Newsweek reported. The plants include grapevines sold between April 21 and May 21, 2026, and desert willow plants sold between June 24 and July 3, 2026.

National Invasive Species Information Center. The insect spreads Xylella fastidiosa, the bacterium that causes Pierce's disease in grapevines. There is no treatment for the disease, and infected vines must typically be removed and destroyed, the U.S.

Department of Agriculture states. Santa Clara County officials reported that more than 1,300 grapevine plants were sold there, with about 1,180 still unaccounted for as of mid-July 2026. County workers are going door to door with collection kits.

The affected plants reached customers in Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, Placer, Sacramento, Solano, Sonoma, San Mateo, Stanislaus, Yolo, and Yuba counties. The CDFA advises customers who bought the plants to keep them isolated, leave them in their containers if possible, double-bag them if instructed, and contact their county agricultural commissioner's office rather than moving or disposing of them.

Grapes, with the direct value of the state's grape crop estimated at $5 billion to $5.6 billion. A 1999 Pierce's disease outbreak in Temecula Valley destroyed more than 300 acres of vineyards. The current recall remains focused on California and is not nationwide.