If you buy from over seas, they will find you.

I received a letter in the mail with contact information
and was asked to call.
We talked about ebay rules, sellers, and buyer information.
I asked if malathion was a preventative against these borers and he said yes.
The man I talked to was very nice as he informed me my cuttings from china
and fig seeds from turkey were to be confiscated.
I informed him that when I realized I had done wrong I pulled up my wuhan's
and burnt them in a fire.
The guilt of knowing I accidentally broke the law made me not want them anyway.
The seeds I had to send to him at USDA.

Don't buy from over  seas folks.
Spreading the bad borers is the worst part.



Doug

Aloha, Doug. I hope everything else turns out alright.  If you need some replacement cuttings, I still have a couple I can send out your way.

Nate

Nate, well I would love to trade cuttings but all my figs were killed to the ground and are growing all over again.
Please let's talk this fall.
Thanks so much for offering. Your a credit to the people here.

Happy figgin

Doug

I felt the same way a couple of months ago when I got a call from them. I totally did not know it was illegal to purchase from out of the country! Last year I had bought some cuttings from Canada. Thank God I was a newbie! I managed to kill everything last year, so I got lucky. But I felt really really bad about it. So FYI, you can't buy from Canada either.

You an buy from Canada if you have an import permit and the requirements are met.  The last I looked, no quarantine was required for fig material imported from Canada.

I bought seeds from China a few years ago, garden seeds, and then fig seeds from Turkey, got as letter from the USFDA about the seeds, they were very nice and I mention the seeds from China, they will be picking up the two little trees I managed to grow and my unused garden seeds from China...I was surprised at how nice they are. I really didn't think seeds were a carrier fro anything...

I guess it's dumb to think that just because ebay lets people sell it, that
it is ok to buy it.
$20 cutting poof ashes.
Live and learn kinda makes life interesting.

Doug

My only issue is that if the seeds or cuttings have been in the US for a year already wouldn't the suspected damage be done already: introduction of pathogens, bugs, fungus, invasive species, etc? Why collect the plants and seeds a year later? What are they accomplishing except to make a point and put you on their 'list'. I'm not disagreeing with them confiscating the plant material, just the timing of confiscation. It seems it would be too late to irradicate anything by then.

Closing the barn door after the horses got out...I'm surprised they were not confiscated coming in to the country. I guess eBay is working with the USDA providing names.

If you were an immigrant, hiding cuttings in your shoes, got through.  Made a life!  Family.  Fig tree from the old country.  All is good, and we all want cuttings.  Sometimes it gets messed up!  And yes, the borers are bad.  Citrus industry is smacked with greening spread by some Asian Psyllid.  I can't keep track, but best to trade within the USA.  Trust me!  California, Florida will soon put restrictions on.  I'm just going to be happy with what I have, and I am!!

Suzi

Aw, that is sad, but I understand why they do it. How long ago did you purchase the foreign cuttings and seeds? I'm just wondering when I should expect my letter.

I kinda wish I worked for the usda, ive contemplated getting cuttings from overseas just to have them show up and see if I could get a job. Then I decided thats probably not the best way to go about it. I do find a lot of this sort of stuff very interesting. Like a soil inspector or something. Does anyone got any connections?

I purchased seeds from turkey and cuttings from china between Oct 2012 and then Nov 2013.

....if that helps


Doug