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4.2 Problems Caused by Invasive Exotic Pests

As global trade increases, so do the risks that exotic forest pests will be introduced into the United States. They are often moved unintentionally as riders on plants, animals, personal property, or packing materials.

Exotic insects and diseases have permanently changed southern forest ecosystems, and efforts to control them have cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Once established, populations of some imported insects and disease-causing organisms have quickly increased because natural control agents present in their native habitat were absent or ineffective in the new habitat. As a result, exotic pests have changed, and will continue to change, entire ecosystems by displacing native flora and fauna.