Pest Surveys are conducted on quarantine pests in cooperation with state and federal agencies as needed.  Examples of pests surveyed are Imported Fire Ant, Gypsy Moth, Karnal Bunt, Sweet Potato Weevil, Japanese Beetle, etc.  Annual pest surveys are necessary for export certification of Texas agricultural products.

Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) participates in the national Cooperative Agriculture Pest Survey (CAPS) program to survey for pests that are exotic or have limited distribution within the U.S.  The CAPS program is a cooperative effort between state departments of agriculture and USDA-APHIS for early pest detection of invasive species.  Early pest detection helps reduce expenditures and often prevents such pest from becoming established.  TDA and it's cooperators have surveyed for pests such as sweet orange scab, Old World bollworm, citrus canker, citrus root weevil, channeled apple snail, plum pox virus, rice pathogens, nematodes, downy mildew of corn, soybean rust, and black stem rust.