Hundreds of grapevines bought at Northern California Costco stores may be sitting in backyards right now, carrying an insect that could devastate the entire California wine industry.
Story Snapshot
- Glassy-winged sharpshooters were found on grapevines shipped from a Fresno nursery to Costco locations across at least 10 Northern California counties between late April and mid-May 2026.
- Costco alerted agricultural officials quickly, destroyed infested plants, and is issuing full refunds — county agencies call the company a cooperative partner, not the source of blame.
- The failure happened upstream at Burchell Nursery in Fresno, where the infestation was not caught before the plants shipped.
- Hundreds of purchased grapevines remain unaccounted for in consumer hands, keeping the threat of spread very much alive.
What the Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter Actually Does to a Vineyard
The glassy-winged sharpshooter is not just a nuisance bug. It spreads Pierce’s disease, a bacterial infection that kills grapevines from the inside out. Lodi Wine Grape Commission Executive Director Stuart Spencer says Pierce’s disease makes farming “economically unviable.”
Napa wine grower Nello Olivo put it more bluntly: “If that gets in Napa, it’ll just kill all the vines they have to.” California’s wine industry generates billions of dollars each year. One bug, moving from yard to yard, could trigger a chain reaction no one can easily stop.
The glassy-winged sharpshooter looks a bit like a large, dark cricket. It feeds on plant fluids and picks up the Pierce’s disease bacteria as it feeds. Then it carries that bacteria to the next plant it touches.
Vineyards near residential areas are especially at risk. A single infested backyard grapevine planted close to commercial wine country is all it takes to start a new outbreak.
How Infested Plants Reached Costco Shelves in the First Place
Burchell Nursery in Fresno supplied the grapevines. The nursery had an active infestation and did not catch it before shipping the plants out. Marin County Agricultural Commissioner Joe Devinney said it plainly: “What broke down was there was an infestation in the nursery and it wasn’t caught.
And then they were shipped and we weren’t notified.” That is the core failure here. The bug got past nursery inspections and rode commercial shipments straight to retail floors across Northern California.
Costco issues warning notice for plant due to invasive insect infestation concern https://t.co/W4FDJ2iqrC
— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) July 12, 2026
This is not a new pattern. A 2024 study found that 61% of 1,285 plant species identified as invasive in the United States remain legally available through the plant trade. Large retailers like Costco act as distribution networks. When a pest slips through at the source, it reaches thousands of customers fast.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture has since placed Burchell Nursery under stricter treatment, inspection, and shipping rules. That is the right response, but it comes after the damage was already done.
Costco’s Response Was Fast and Transparent
Costco did not wait to be pushed. The company notified agricultural officials as soon as the problem surfaced. Sacramento County confirmed that 160 infested grapevines delivered to Sacramento Costco locations were destroyed after inspectors found multiple life stages of the glassy-winged sharpshooter on the plants.
In Napa County, 63 of the 220 delivered grapevines were destroyed after one egg mass was found. Costco is directly contacting members who bought plants during the affected window and issuing refunds.
County agricultural offices across the region back this up. Sacramento, Napa, Marin, and others all describe Costco as a cooperative partner. No county agency has blamed Costco for the infestation itself. That matters.
When a company gets bad news from its supply chain, the instinct is sometimes to go quiet. Costco went the other direction. That kind of response deserves credit, even if the situation itself is serious.
The Problem That Remains: Hundreds of Plants Are Still Out There
Here is the part that should keep agricultural officials up at night. Sacramento County reports that hundreds of grapevines are unaccounted for, still in the hands of customers who bought them at local Costco stores.
Napa County says 157 of the 220 grapevines delivered there are also unaccounted for. Costco can issue refunds and send alerts. It cannot force anyone to hand a plant back. Every unrecovered grapevine is a potential bridge between a backyard and a commercial vineyard.
If you bought a grapevine at a Northern California Costco between late April and late May 2026, the action is clear. Place the plant in two sealed garbage bags. Do not compost it or throw it in a green waste bin.
Contact your local county agricultural commissioner’s office for disposal instructions. Costco will give you a full refund. The bug is real, the disease it carries is real, and the stakes for California agriculture are about as high as they get. A trip to the trash can is a small price to pay.
Sources:
foxbusiness.com, kcra.com, reddit.com, pacificsun.com
