The Swiss Ministry of Agriculture (BLW) want to prevent the American potato flea moving into Switzerland. This flea can cause severe economic damage. To prevent the flea entering into Switzerland the qualified officials were instructed to look for the vermin when checking potatoes. This as published by the Swiss news agency SDA. The American potato flea appeared in Portugal in 2004 and in Spain in 2008. In the Netherlands affected potatoes also from Portugal were found in 2010.
The larvae of the American potato flea can cause enormous economic damage because they dig passages below the potato skin and also affect the outside of the potato.