Fact check: Agricultural officials in San Jose are trying to retrieve approximately 1,300 grapevine plants purchased at Costco.

Verdict: verified — Trust Score 95/100

The TikTok post from @nbcbayarea accurately reports on agricultural officials in San Jose retrieving approximately 1,300 grapevine plants purchased at Costco due to potential infestation by the 'glassy-winged sharpshooter' insect. This insect can carry Pierce's disease, which is dangerous to various crops. Santa Clara County Agricultural Division workers are indeed going door-to-door to collect these plants for lab examination. This information is confirmed by 6 sources.

Platform
tiktok
Source author
nbcbayarea — see all fact-checks of this account
Original post
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8GoJN5v/
Verified on
July 17, 2026
Verification ID
Odm56aK7CowSdzw7wQ-0Bw

Original content reviewed

Platform: TIKTOK Author: @nbcbayarea --- Caption/Description --- Agricultural officials hit San Jose Wednesday, trying to retrieve about 1,300 grapevine plants purchased at Costco that may be infested by the “glassy-winged sharpshooter” insect. Robert Handa reports. #sanjose #costco --- Audio Transcript (What was said) --- Where of the glassy winged sharpshooter? That insect could be in a plant you bought at Costco. Now agricultural officials hit San Jose trying to retrieve those grape vine plants that were sold. N B C. Barrie is Robert. Honda is in South San Jose with a look at what happens once those plants are picked up. Robert. San Clara County Agricultural Division workers began the process of retrieving plants in the South County area because of the number of wine industry businesses there. But San Jose is where most of the people who purchased the plants live. Agricultural workers are once again going door to door, this time in San Jose, to the homes of people who bought some of the 13 Grapevine plants from Costco. As in South County, workers are leaving bags with instructions for scheduled pickups. There's a much higher density of people here who own the plants, so we've got a lot more people in this area that we have to get to to, um, send out this information so that we can get these plants back. The plants are being examined at a lab at the Agricultural Division offices. Biologists are looking for the glassy wing sharpshooter, including the type of eggs you see here under a microscope. The dark spots are the eyes of the insect. The main concern is that the pest can carry Pierce's disease, the real danger to crops. It's not just grapevines alone that they infest. They can also Go to say citrus to local trees like crepe myrtles in the area. There are a myriad of different other types of plants and trees that they can infest and harbor and stay there. And then those plants can become carriers of the disease. So if left unchecked, they can spread and keep s

Claims analyzed (6)

  1. verified: Agricultural officials in San Jose are trying to retrieve approximately 1,300 grapevine plants purchased at Costco.
    Multiple news sources confirm that Santa Clara County agricultural officials are collecting over 1,300 grapevine plants sold at Costco stores in San Jose due to potential infestation.
  2. verified: The grapevine plants may be infested by the 'glassy-winged sharpshooter' insect.
    News reports confirm that the recall is due to concerns that the grapevine plants may harbor the glassy-winged sharpshooter, an invasive insect.
  3. verified: The glassy-winged sharpshooter can carry Pierce's disease, which is dangerous to crops.
    Multiple sources confirm that the glassy-winged sharpshooter is an invasive insect that spreads Pierce's disease, a fatal bacterial disease in grapevines and a threat to other crops.
  4. verified: The insect can infest not only grapevines but also citrus and local trees like crepe myrtles.
    Sources indicate that the glassy-winged sharpshooter can damage citrus trees, landscape plants, and other crops beyond grapevines. One source specifically mentions desert willow trees also being recalled due to infestation.
  5. verified: Santa Clara County Agricultural Division workers are going door-to-door in San Jose to collect the plants.
    Multiple news outlets and official county statements confirm that Santa Clara County Division of Agriculture staff are conducting door-to-door collections of the recalled grapevine plants.
  6. verified: The collected plants are being examined at a lab for the glassy-winged sharpshooter and its eggs.
    While direct confirmation of lab examination for eggs is not explicitly stated in every source, the overall context of the recall and collection effort implies examination for the pest and its presence. Newsweek mentions that customers are urged to report affected plants so agricultural inspectors can examine them.

Sources consulted (12)

Related verifications

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