Contraband Roses: Beautiful Flowers, Ugly Bugs

Feb. 10, 2011— -- Valentine's Day flowers are a close to $2 billion business and one of the top ways of saying, "I love you."

So how would you feel if the flowers you sent or received were infested with exotic insects or diseases?

More than half of the flowers sold in the United States are imported from other countries.

Each day during the Valentine's season, Jan. 1 – Feb. 14, John F. Kennedy Airport in New York receives thousands of flowers.

And those flowers can arrive with unwanted hitchhikers – exotic insects that don't exist in this country.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agriculture Specialists are working to keep out foreign pests that could wreak havoc on U.S.-grown flowers and food crops.

"It could damage our agricultural industry," said Robert Redes, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer, chief of Cargo Branch C at JFK airport.

Specialists inspect imported flowers right at the airport. Most imports are from Colombia and Ecuador.

Redes said their work protects the U.S. against the adverse economic impact of threatening plant pests and diseases.

"It really secures our way of life," said Redes.

As "Good Morning America" watches, specialists identify one threatening plant disease and shake out at least three different kinds of insects, including a Colombian fly hiding in the middle of a Chrysanthemum leaf and multiple thrips from Genistra flowers from Italy.

Specialists believe all of these parasites got here by careless accident, but they are always alert to the possibility of deliberate agri-terrorism.

"It could potentially contaminate crops, wipe out particular species of plants. The impact could be incalculable," said Brian Humphrey, U.S. Customs and Border Protection port director at JFK Airport. "The agricultural economy is incredibly important in this country and we need to protect it at all times."

Drug smugglers have been known to stash cocaine in exported flowers.

"We have seen narcotics woven into flowers. Flower stems cut open drugs inserted, sewn back up, glued back up," said Humphrey.

No drugs while GMA was there, but plenty of bugs.

The specialists take the insects to an airport lab to identify them. The tiny insects are then sent to the Department of Agriculture to confirm the threat.

If it's significant, the flowers they rode in on will either be fumigated or destroyed rather than heading to somebody's home.

If you spot insects on a floral bouquet, U.S. Customs and Border Protection says put the flowers in a plastic bag, seal it up tight, put it in the freezer for at least 48 hours to kill the bugs, and then throw the whole thing away.